The Beauty of Power
by FireGladiator
Summary: As a man of war, Sasuke Uchiha finds himself bored, and alienated from the new era of peace that has followed after the Fourth Shinobi War. However, after an encounter with Hinata Hyuuga, Sasuke decides that she can help him fill that void by striking up an alliance with her for the sole purpose of power. But, what if the alliance turns into something more? [REWRITE] OF P. ALLIANCE
1. Encounters

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, or any aspect of it. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto **

The Beauty of Power

Chapter 1

Sasuke sat in the teahouse, and there was a faint sound of music in the background. The music consisted of the melodic tunes of a bamboo flute. The teahouse bustled with the excessive chatter of men and women, but Sasuke ignored them. He sat in a corner far off from everyone else, a bottle of plumb sake sat on the table in front of him, and he took a sip of it out of a saucer like cup. Sasuke had on a gray cloak that hid his body, and a katana mounted on his hip. The alcohol alleviated his tense body, but Sasuke knew that the alleviation would be short-lived. He was constantly on guard to the outside world around him, it was the direct result of wandering, aimlessly through the shinobi world. Whenever he slept, if that is what you want to call it, he found himself aware of any kind of noises being made in his presence. This presented a problem for him, often Sasuke slept in caves or exposed to the elements, and even the faint whistling of the wind caused him to be on edge.

The noises that he found himself aware of couldn't possibly be made by a human being. He knew that no one would dare sneak up on him, not if they valued their lives, and the likelihood of that happening was slim. Not in this so called Era in Peace. It sickened Sasuke to no end! Villages that once were enemies were now good friends, and the philosophy of loving your neighbor had become a widespread accepted ideal. The Fourth Shinobi War had transformed the world that Sasuke had grown adapted to, a world that was cruel, unforgiving, where people used you for their own gain. Sasuke found himself alienated from this new world, he was so accustomed to seeing conflict between shinobi, hell, he had even been a part of the conflict. However, Sasuke would not subject himself to this new era of peace! Everyone else was swayed by it, abandoning all of their initial motives for their actions, but Sasuke was not an easily influenced young man.

* * *

There were so many who thought that the new peace would change Sasuke, bring him back to Konoha, and Sasuke would redeem himself in the form of becoming a benevolent shinobi. What fucking fools! These incompetent fools included Sakura, and that fucking dobe, Naruto. Hell, Naruto had even built him a new estate in the newly resurrected Konoha. They had built the estate for Sasuke after he aided them in the war, thinking that he would join the village afterwards, but they were sadly placing false hope in him. Sasuke had seen the estate once or twice, it was nice he had to admit, fit for the sole heir of the Uchiha clan, and at times Sasuke did stay at the estate. He would go into Konohagakure without being noticed by anyone, and he would stay there for a couple of days. It beat having to sleep in a hotel room, or outside. However, the presence of Konoha was insufferable, he could only look and be in it for so long. It reminded him of his failed plan to decimate Konohagakure, to wipe its inhabitants off the face of the earth, and send them into the afterlife.

Two young men got up to their feet, one of the men staggered back, and his cheeks were flushed red. The women who poured their drinks, snickered at the sight, and the men balled up their fists.

"You want to fight, Ryuuji?" The severely drunk man asked, curiously. "I can take you on!"

"As if, Jobo!" Ryuuji snickered at him, and he wrapped his arm around his drunken friend's neck. "Why fight each other when we can start a teahouse brawl?" Ryuuji's drunken friend grinned, wildly at the thought, and he started to look around the room.

"Who wants to fight, anyone!" Jobo shouted. Jobo staggered to other tables, eyeing the men who sat with other women, and the teahouse fell silent. The women looked at the two young men, slightly apprehensive for what would come next, and Sasuke stared at Jobo, disgusted.

"What a fucking nuisance." Sasuke took a gulp of his sake, placing the money onto the table, and he put the hood up on his cloak. He walked past Jobo, Sasuke kept his eyes forward underneath the hood, and a hand came flying on his shoulder. Sasuke's body stiffened, and he scowled as his hand moved to his katana.

* * *

"Hey, you, where do you think you are going?" Ryuuji demanded. Sasuke didn't answer him, and he turned around. Half of his face was darkened by the hood, obscuring the identity of the Uchiha heir. Ryuuji twitched when he saw that Sasuke would not answer him, and he whistled to his drunken friend. "Hey, come over here, Jobo, I think we have found your man to fight" Jobo turned, grinning at the sight of Sasuke, and he walked up to him.

"So, you want to leave out of here on me eh?" Jobo asked Sasuke. He frowned when he saw that he wouldn't get a rise out of Sasuke, and Sasuke kept his mouth in defined line without any hint of emotion.

_I don't have time for such senseless bullshit._

"He's not much of a talker, Ryuuji." Jobo observed, quickly. "And just who the hell are you." Jobo reached to grab Sasuke's hood, Sasuke unsheathed his katana, and the blade sat underneath his arm, ready to cut it off. The movements made his hood fall, revealing Sasuke's crimson eyes, and his face was hard. There was a heaviness placed in the air, suddenly, as everyone in the teahouse realized the man who stood before them was no other than the murderous traitor, Sasuke Uchiha.

"Touch me, and you will be living without that arm." Sasuke threatened, menacingly. Jobo staggered backwards as his eyes pulsed with apprehension, and Ryuuji raised his hands up in front of him.

"Sorry, we didn't know!" Sasuke smirked at the Ryuuji, and Ryuuji staggered backwards as Sasuke approached him. Ryuuji ended up, collapsing on his back, and he looked at Sasuke, horrified.

"What?" The Uchiha heir asked, disappointed. He pointed his sword to the man's throat. "I thought you wanted to fight?"

Ryuuji began to stammer. "No, I-I-" Sasuke cut him off.

"Are a pathetic piece of shit." Sasuke informed, curtly, and his gaze directed to Jobo. Jobo looked at Sasuke with his jaw clenched, and his hands were shaking.

"Leave him alone." Jobo commanded Sasuke, Sasuke's eyes narrowed at him, and he walked up to Jobo. Sasuke watched Jobo tremble with each step towards him, and he couldn't help, but chuckle at the sight. He grabbed Jobo by the collar, and lifted him off the ground.

"You dare command me?" Sasuke hissed. His grip tightened on Job's collar, his knuckles pushing into Jobo's throat, and Jobo shook his head as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Please, I have a wife and children." Jobo pleaded. The Uchiha heir stared at him, icily, and he scoffed at Jobo's excuse.

"Hmph!" Sasuke threw Jobo away from him like a rag doll, and Jobo hit the ground with a loud thud. "Like I give a fuck if you have wife or kids." He headed out the teahouse, leaving the atmosphere of the teahouse filled with fear, and Sasuke wandered away from there. The teahouse was located in a small village that was isolated from the rest of the world, it was the kind of village that Sasuke often took refuge in, since its inhabitants were just common ordinary folk. There were no shinobi in the village, and Sasuke liked it that way. The Uchiha heir pulled his hood back over his head, and he cursed underneath his breath. If it wasn't for that altercation in the teahouse, Sasuke would be able to take a room at a hotel in the village, but he knew that word would soon spread about the Uchiha's presence.

"That is just fucking great." The Uchiha heir snarled. The clouds began to darken, and the sky started to rumble with the sign of an alteration in the climate. Sasuke looked up at the sky, a rain droplet started to hit against the ground, and soon one droplet multiplied into many. Sasuke looked up at the sky as a rain droplets hit his cheek, rolling off his skin, and onto his shoulder.

"It would be fucking raining." Sasuke was not too keen on sleeping in the rain, he had grown weary of sleeping outside because that was last resort kind of thing. The Uchiha heir wasn't near any forest neither, Sasuke began to weigh out his options as the rain began to saturate his rain, gluing it to his skin. Well, he could just sleep in his estate in Konoha since Konoha was not too far away. Cursing at the predicament he was in, Sasuke made his way to Konoha, reluctantly.

* * *

Konoha was clearly visible for miles, and the lights were vibrant through the blanket that the rain. Sasuke ran up towards Konoha, making sure that his movements were quiet, and he stopped at the outskirts of the village. He watched two shinobi look into the abyss, lazily, and bored. Also, Sasuke noticed that the shinobi guarded the gates of Konohagakure, halfheartedly, and the Uchiha heir chuckled to himself. He did some hand signs, creating a clone, and the clone moved forward towards the gates. He sat there, watching his clone create a diversion to distract the two shinobi, and they took notice of the clone. The shinobi ran after the clone as fast as they could, Sasuke made sure that no one was coming back, and he moved towards the gate. Taking advantage of how gullible they were, he slipped into the gates, and made sure that no one was looking at him. Sasuke made his way to the estate, but he could have sworn he saw the faint figure of a Konoha shinobi, and it caused him to instinctively reach for his sword. However, Sasuke was too fatigued to deal with the shit right now, and he pursed his lips. The Uchiha heir awaited for a shinobi to come for him, but none did.

"Hmph!" Sasuke grunted to himself. The Uchiha heir headed for the estate, and the estate stood far off away from everyone else. The estate stood, empty, and somewhat haunting as opposed to the other homes. The gates were closed up, and Sasuke pushed past the gates. He closed the gates behind him, quickly, and the Uchiha heir stood behind the gate. He wanted to make sure there was no commotion, and he walked into house. The walls were bare, there was nothing in the house except for the necessities, and Sasuke walked into the bedroom. He stripped down his clothes, tossing them to the corner, and he opened the closet. There was rows of untouched men's kimonos aligned adjacent beside on another, and Sasuke scoffed at the sight. He put on a white kimono, and fell onto the bed. The Uchiha heir found himself, staring at the ceiling, and the house was eerily still. The sound of the rain hitting against the roof was peaceful, the bed was comfortable, and it beat sleeping in any cheap hotel bed or out in the open environment. The Uchiha heir felt his eyes get heavy, and soon he drifted off into a light sleep.

* * *

-The next day-

The sound of lively Konoha citizens woke Sasuke up, he frowned to himself at the sound, and Sasuke lifted up in the bed.

"_It would be quiet if I would have killed everyone."_ Sasuke thought to himself. Sasuke fell back in the bed, putting his arm over his face, and a knock came at the door. Sasuke's sharingan activated, instantly, and he got up off the bed. He grabbed his katana, walking through the house, cautiously, and Sasuke leaned up against the wall. He figured that whoever it was would end up leaving, but the knocking continued to persist.

"Sasuke!" shouted a voice. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he immediately recognized the voice, and he growled at himself. _Naruto._

"What is he doing here?" Sasuke thought back to the figure he could have sworn he had seen, and he cursed underneath his breath. He had let his fatigue get in the way of his judgment, the Uchiha heir should have known when he saw that figure that he should have left right there. Sasuke knew that Naruto would not go away, but Sasuke was not going to humor him. He stood against the wall, the knocking became frantic, and the Uchiha heir watched the door shake underneath the force of the knocks. Sasuke watched the door, cautiously, and then the knocks subsided into nothing. He kept his eyes on the door, and Naruto busted through it.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted. "I know that you are here, I can sense your chakra!" Sasuke walked out to meet his former teammate, and he pointed his sword at Naruto. The hokage's jacket was draped over Naruto's clothes, and Naruto crossed his arms. "I heard you came last night."

"So." Sasuke sneered.

"So do you like the estate?" Naruto asked, curiously. Sasuke looked at him, apathetically, and he put his hand on his hip.

"Don't mistaken, I will be leaving today." Sasuke informed." Now get out, and fix the damn door."

"Oh yeah, sorry." Naruto chuckled at him, as a smile came across his face, and he scratched his head. "So what makes you come to Konohagakure?"

"None of your business." Sasuke growled. The Uchiha heir looked at the warm smile on the Jinchuuriki host's face, and it made him grind his teeth at the sight. He was not here on any friendly visit, he didn't yearn to see his blasts from the past, and all he wanted was a warm bed.

"So how have you been?" Naruto inquired. "You look good." Sasuke didn't answer him, but he saw Naruto was going to keep up the one sided conversation. "So you know, I have become Hokage, and I have gotten married to Sakura."

"Congratulations." Sasuke said, condescendingly.

"You could live here, you know, instead of living that nomadic life of yours." Naruto smiled at him, wryly.

"No, now get out." The Uchiha heir reiterated.

"Okay, I can see that you have you mind set up." Sasuke saw a sullen look spread across Naruto's face, he watched Naruto walk up to the door, and he placed the door back on the hinges. The Uchiha heir lowered his katana when the door closed, and he walked back into the bedroom. Sasuke picked up his clothes, but they were still saturated. He took them outside with a stream of water trailing behind him, and Sasuke laid the clothes out onto the porch. The Uchiha heir figured that he would let them dry, and then be on his way. His stomach growled, lowly, Sasuke walked into the kitchen, and he opened the fridge. The fridge was empty to his surprise, and he slammed the door shut. It meant that he would have to go out into the town, and Sasuke cursed his body for such primal needs. The Uchiha heir grabbed a pair of sandals, and he took some money out of the pocket of his clothes. He walked out of the gate, some of the inhabitants of Konohagakure quickly took notice of him, and there was a series of whispers that broke out.

* * *

A woman shielded her child away from Sasuke, avoiding eye contact with her husband pushing him along, hastily. Some children played with a ball along the streets, the ball came heading towards Sasuke, and it hit him against his leg. The children stopped, catching sight of Sasuke, and he directed his sinister glare to the ball and then back to the children. Sasuke left the ball where it was, walking past it, and the children hid until he was away from them. He watched the children grab the ball, scurrying away as fast as they could, and Sasuke smirked to himself.

_They feared him, the villagers, the sight of them struck dismay in their hearts. _

It delighted him to a certain degree, but the Uchiha heir could see that it was becoming a quick nuisance. This is why he liked to stay in villages that were unaware of his identity. The Uchiha heir walked into the first restaurant that he could find in Konohagakure's district. The people in the restaurant stopped eating, immediately, an eerie silence fell over the restaurant, and Sasuke walked over to a booth. He relaxed, closing his eyes, and he placed his chin in his hand, awaiting for his waitress or waiter. It wasn't long before a waitress was assigned to his table, and she walked up to Sasuke, hesitantly. The waitress had a menus in her hands, and she placed one in front of him.

"Hi, my name is Ofumiko and I will be your servant today" Ofumiko introduced. "What would you like to drink?"

"Water" The Uchiha heir commanded, not making eye contact as boredom spread across his face. "And I would like to order now"

"Oh!" said Ofumiko "p-please hold on, let me get out my notepad" Ofumiko searched in her pocket, fumbling through it, frantically, and Sasuke looked at her, annoyed. She looked young, probably about his same age, maybe a year younger, but that was all irrelevant and superfluous information to Sasuke, and Ofumiko pulled out her notepad.

"I would like a plate of takoyaki, and a bowl of katsudon" commanded Sasuke. He picked up the useless menu, and Ofumiko nodded at him. She took the menu, turning around and almost running away from his table. The Uchiha heir could hear the whispers in the restaurant.

"_Why is he here?" _

"_I thought he was a wander, and nobody" _

"_No, doubt he is here planning something."_

* * *

Sasuke sighed at the gossip, he looked around the restaurant, and caught sight of Ino sitting at a table not too far from him. Ino looked at him, baffled with her mouth hung agape, and Sasuke stared at her, uninterested. His gaze directed to those who were sitting at the table with her, there was no one that he had paid particular interest in, except for one. The Hyuuga heiress. Hinata sat across from Ino, she looked at Sasuke, shyly, and Sasuke stared at her. He had never really paid attention to her, only that she was too kind for her own good and she was extremely weak. However, the Uchiha heir had also remembered how strong she was during the fight with Madara. It was clearly evident that the Hyuuga heiress had grown, exponentially in perfecting her byakugan, and Sasuke began to smirk to himself. He had just found the key to his boredom. Sasuke would test his skills against her, he had never fought with a Hyuuga before, and if she proved to be worthy. The Uchiha heir would strike up an alliance with the Hyuuga heiress. The Uchiha heir watched Kiba who was sitting next Ino get up, Sasuke glared at him, and he walked over to the table.

"What are you doing here?" Kiba asked, angrily. "You should not be here."

"Oh?" Sasuke asked, coldly as he stood up. "And why is that?" Kiba cringed at him, Akamaru appeared next to Kiba, and he growl at Sasuke. Sasuke looked at the dog, and he let out a chuckle.

"Keeping a mutt around I see." Sasuke sneered.

"What did the fuck did you just say?" Kiba reached to grab the collar of Sasuke's kimono, Sasuke balled up his fists, and his onyx eyes flashed to crimson ones. The Uchiha heir watched Ino and Hinata walk over to them, hurriedly.

"Stop it, Kiba." Ino commanded, trying to ease the situation. "You really shouldn't cause a scene."

"This asshole already did the moment he walked into Konoha." Kiba objected. "So tell me why are you here, to destroy the village, to eradicate us off the face of the earth, tell me."

"I don't owe any of you an explanation."

"P-please stop it." Hinata pleaded, softly. Kiba looked at her as the anger suddenly disappeared off his face, and Hinata looked at Sasuke. "I'm sorry, w-we have disturbed you. Uchiha-san." Sasuke stared at her, icily, and he pursed his lips. Her voice was soft and gentle, it agitated him. "We are d-delighted to have y-you back here in Konoha."

"I hardly doubt that." Sasuke scoffed.

"I'm sorry for the r-reception that y-you are getting." Hinata murmured, lowly.

"Why?" The Uchiha heir glared at her. "Why are you sorry?"

"Because e-everyone is a human being and s-should not be ostracized regardless of w-what they did in the past." Hinata explained with a warm smile.

_Definitely, too kind._

"So tell me, Hyuuga, why are you associating yourself with such low company?" Sasuke asked, coolly.

"What the hell did you just say?" Ino asked, angrily. Sasuke ignored the irate expression on Ino's face, and he kept his eyes on Hinata. "And she has a name."

"They are not l-low company." Hinata said, defensively. She frowned at him, and Hinata pursed her lips.

"Whatever." The Uchiha growled. "Then that makes you a low life for associating with them."

"I am n-not." He watched her cheeks flush red in embarrassment and perhaps anger. " Y-you shouldn't say such cruel things to p-people."

"I don't give a fuck." Sasuke chuckled at her.

"Come on, Hinata, you don't need this!" Kiba grabbed Hinata's arm, and he began to lead her towards the door. Ino stared at Sasuke, infuriated before she followed behind them, and the Uchiha heir smirked as Hinata took one last look at him. If he was going to have Hinata filled his boredom, it meant that Sasuke would have to stay in Konoha till he was satisfied with her, and he cringed at the thought. However, he would be sleeping in a nice warm bed, and he would have warm food to eat instead of scraps.

"Guess, I will be staying after all." The Uchiha heir murmured to himself, and a sadistic grin spread across his face. "Till we meet again. Hinata Hyuuga."

**Please review the story, I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you all enjoyed it as there will be more to come- FireGladiator. **


	2. Hinderances

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, or any aspect of it. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

The Beauty of Power

Chapter 2

Word soon spread that Sasuke would be staying in Konohagakure despite his efforts to keep his presence inconspicuous. Hell, Sasuke had only been seen twice after he had first arrived into Konohagakure, but that was enough. The village was so interconnected, everyone knew each other, and this made it available for gossip to spread like wild fire. Sasuke didn't even have to go outside his gates to hear some of the chit-chat among the hoi polloi. There were a few commonalities among the gossip, and it included some phases like:

"_I can't believe the Hokage is allowing such a man to live in the village."_

"_Now, I will have to sleep in fear that he will come rob me of my life."_

"_Such a demon doesn't belong here."_

To avoid all of it, Sasuke stayed inside of the estate most of the time, and he slept most of the day. As for food, Sasuke saved the food from the restaurant, and he had been eating bit and parts of it. He didn't eat a whole lot since he lived a nomadic life, there were times where food was not available, and so it was a habit of his to savor as much as he would. However, being confined within the four walls of the estate could only be tolerated for so long, and the Uchiha heir found himself venturing out.

* * *

Sasuke stood in the forest, the forest was still with the noise of birds chirping in the evergreen trees, and he huffed, excessively. A huge tree stood in front of him, the bark was black, and the remnants of the dead wood crumbled off its base. He figured that he would train by himself for a while, it had been long since the Uchiha heir had tested his abilities and he wanted to make sure that they weren't dull. The Uchiha raised his katana, as a bright blue electric flow descended down the blade, and Sasuke struck the tree as hard as he could. The tree shuddered at the sheer force, and Sasuke stared at the tree. He began to admire how deep his katana cut into the tree because it was one of the things that Sasuke always made sure of when he traveled to different places. He always made sure that the blade was sharp, the Uchiha heir wanted to be assured that when he unsheathed the sword to bring it down upon someone, that it would cut flesh.

"Hmph!" Sasuke grunted as a cocky smirk played on his lips. The sound of leaves crushing broke the Uchiha heir out of his thoughts, Sasuke tightened the grip on his sword, and he pointed it in the direction of the sound. A familiar chakra began to fill the air, and he sighed in annoyance. "Don't you have some fucking duties or bullshit to do instead of bothering me?" Naruto chuckled, lowly and he appeared out from behind a tree

"I figured that you would be out here." The Jinchuuriki host's gaze directed to the mangled tree. "Don't you think you have done enough damage to it?"

"No, I train to kill, now what the fuck do you want?" The Uchiha heir hissed through gritted teeth.

"You have caused quite an uproar among the villagers." A grin came on Naruto's face, and he crossed his arms.

"So." Sasuke growled.

"Are you rumors true?" Naruto asked, inquisitively. "Have you decided to stay in Konohagakure?" Sasuke didn't answer his question instead he just looked at Naruto with a hard expression, and he pursed his lips. There was a momentary silence exchanged between the two men, and Naruto looked back at him, intently. Naruto was about to open his mouth to reiterate the question, and Sasuke's hand flew up to stop him.

"I heard you the first time." Sasuke stated. "I don't see why it matters to you."

"I am Hokage, I have to keep a census of everyone living in the village, you know."

"Don't give me that bullshit, it is your way to keep tabs on me." Sasuke scoffed at the excuse that the Jinchuuriki had come up with. "If you are going to bullshit at least make it good."

"Sasuke." The Jinchuuriki host said, firmly. "Just answer the question."

"The fact that I am here at this moment should be enough validation." Naruto's face lit up, and a wide smile spread across his face.

"That is great!" Naruto shouted. "For how long?"

"For as long as I fucking feel like." The Uchiha heir grimaced. Naruto nodded at him, and The Uchiha heir watched the Jinchuuriki host try to contain his elation.

_Wipe that stupid smile off your fucking face._

"Maybe since you are here, you can have dinner with everyone, and I can round up the o- "Sasuke cut him off.

"I am not here to exchange formalities, I just want the warm bed and the food." Naruto nodded at him, indicating that he had taken a mental note, and he pressed his lips together.

"I know that everyone is treating you with suspicion." The Jinchuuriki host explained. "But, I was hoping to alleviate some of the tension by showing them that you are no longer the man that you used to be."

"No that is where you are wrong, dumbass, I will _always_ be that man, and I will prove to be nothing other than that." The Uchiha heir exasperated. "That was always your fucking problem, trying to redeem me in the eyes of my _former_ peers."

_Redemption, what a silly ideal. There is no redemption for the things I have done. Redemption is not for demons._

Naruto frowned at him, and his jaw clenched up. "It would really mean a lot to everyone including Sakura to see you as a different person or in a different light."

"Like I give a fuck as to what is meaningful to your wife or anyone for that matter."

"You mean to tell me that you want to always be feared like this?" The Jinchuuriki host asked, baffled.

Sasuke chuckled at Naruto. "Of course I do."

_It keeps people away from me._

"Sasuke!" The blond headed Hokage shouted, angrily. "I don't believe that." Naruto's eyebrows furrowed together into an irate expression.

"Tch, you're a bigger dumbass than I initially thought." Sasuke derided. "Now, I'm leaving." Sasuke turned on his heels, he felt Naruto's stare bore into his back, and he disappeared into the forest. The Uchiha heir looked over his shoulder to make sure that Naruto was not following after him, and he cursed underneath his breath.

* * *

This encounter with the blond headed Hokage was not something that the Uchiha heir had found to be surprising. He had predicted the possibility of Naruto confronting him as soon as he learned the news of his prolonged stay in Konohagakure. Naruto had always been stuck on the Uchiha heir, and it annoyed Sasuke to no end!

Naruto was like a leech! Just you think you got rid the leech, you soon realize that it is still attached to you, and had merely moved out of you sight, temporarily. These bonds that the Uchiha heir found everyone attached to were so fucking absurd! Sure! Sasuke once had bonds, a bond with his parents, and a bond with his brother, Itachi Uchiha. However, those bonds were forcibly severed by the very shinobi village that Sasuke had once been a part of. How ironic! But, why couldn't they just leave him the fuck alone? How hard was that to comprehend! He had no desire to see his anyone from his past! And there was no way in hell, Sasuke would prove himself to be something that he was not because his past defined him in every way. His past drove his ambition, his ambition for power, for recognition, but now it was different. Sasuke had already fulfilled what he had set out to do when he left this god forsaken place, but what was there now? The Uchiha heir felt a sort of emptiness inside of him, he was searching for a new direction, and it was the primary reason for why he wandered from place to place. What does a man of war do when there is no war to be fought? The question may had seem so easy for someone to answer, but it much more complicated. It perplexed Sasuke to a certain degree, and it was why he had chosen the Hyuuga heiress to fill that emptiness. To strike up an alliance with the Hyuuga heiress, to fight against her, to test his sharingan against what is said to be the origin of his very kekkei genkai would provide the Uchiha heir with a sense of what it was like before the era of peace started. The battles, the opponents begging for mercy, the sound of bones crushing underneath his strength, oh the sheer delight! These thoughts of emptiness plagued his mind when he wasn't fighting, and the alliance with the Hyuuga heiress would be a momentary relief from them.

* * *

Sasuke sighed in agitation, and he pulled the hood of the cloak over his head. He made his way towards the estate, the Uchiha heir pushed past the gates, and he found a sort of tiredness fall over him. In fact, over the course of two days, Sasuke found himself yearning to eat and sleep. He often deprived himself of sleep when traveling, and now that he was living a temporary settled life. It was catching up with him. The Uchiha heir walked inside the home, the home was so empty that it made it hard for anyone to believe that someone actually lived in it, and Sasuke walked over to the fridge. He opened the fridge in hopes of finding the remnants of some food, but there was none left. Sasuke had stretched the food from the restaurant far enough.

_I have to go to the market, I can't just keep buying restaurant food._

Sasuke sighed, heavily, and he walked inside of the bedroom. He pulled out a pouch filled with money, and stuffed it inside of his pocket.

_Today is going to be filled with unnecessary interactions, I can see it now._

The Uchiha heir made his way towards the market, the villagers moved out of his way, quickly and they murmured underneath their breaths. Sasuke glared at them, angrily, and the villagers ceased their excessive chatter. The market became clearly visible, and it was extremely noisy. Merchants yelled for customers, holding out their commodities in hope to attract the attention of the people passing by, and they grinned at the sight of a caught customer. The attention of the customer meant the possibility of a sale, and a rise in their profits. As soon as the merchants caught sight of Sasuke, they shied away, but still held out their products to him with shaking hands.

"Hmph!" Sasuke grunted to himself. These weaklings couldn't even contain their fear of him. How pathetic! The Uchiha heir was indecisive as to what he would make, but he was not going to stand in the crowd of people, debating. Sasuke walked up to a meat stand, there were all kinds laid out before him, and the merchant's mouth dropped to the ground. "Give me the duck, fish, pork, and beef." The merchant stared at him, blinking as if he didn't hear what Sasuke asked for, and Sasuke cringed at him. "Now!"

"Oh yes!" The merchant shouted, breathlessly. "I-I'm sorry!" The Uchiha heir glared at him as he gathered up the food, and began to wrap it up. He placed it all in a bag, and Sasuke snatched it from him.

"How much?"

"2000 yen." Sasuke placed the money on the counter, ignoring the merchant's shaking extended hand, and he walked over to another stand. However, the Uchiha heir caught sight of Hinata out the corner of his eye, and he looked up. Hinata was talking to an elderly woman, and the elderly woman slipped some food into her grocery bags. The Hyuuga heiress had some leeks along with fresh fruits in her bags, and Sasuke studied her, carefully. Hinata had a grin on her face, the elderly woman looked at her, warmly, and Sasuke smirked to himself. The Hyuuga heiress laughed as she waved at the aged woman, and he watched her make her way towards his direction. Sasuke turned on his heels, walking towards her, and she caught sight of him. He watched her face turned red, she pursed her lips, but Hinata kept a kind expression on her face. It almost looked as if she were trying to mask some emotion. Nonetheless, The Hyuuga heiress walked up to him, and she smiled at him, warmly.

* * *

"Oh" Hinata said, breathlessly. "I-I didn't know you were going to be in the m-market today, Uchiha-san, how are you?"

"I'm fine, just grocery shopping."

"So y-you decided to stay here?"

"Now, you know well and damn well that I decided to stay here, everyone in the village knows so I am sure that you do as well."

"I don't t-tend to tune into gossip" The Hyuuga heiress said, defensively. "Most g-gossip is fallacious, and I-I don't like it when people talk about others."

"Oh, then you would be the first person in the world, I have met like that."

"Uchiha-san, p-please stop."

"Why am I hurting your feelings?" Sasuke chuckled at her, and Hinata's gaze directed to his bags. The Uchiha heir saw her evade the question.

"If you don't m-mind me asking, what are you making for d-dinner?" Hinata looked at Sasuke, keeping that same lovely visage, and Sasuke scowled.

_I want to break her of that kindness._

"I don't know, I haven't made food for myself in ages, so I just bought whatever, why?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes, and Hinata held up her hands in front of her.

"I-I was just curious."

The Uchiha heir looked at her bag of leeks. "So what is a pampered young woman like you doing out here, I thought you had servants to do your own fucking cooking."

"I do, but I-I don't like them to cook for me b-because I ask enough of them already." The Hyuuga heiress fumbled with her words.

* * *

"How fucking noble." Sasuke glared at her. "So tell me, did I make you upset when I said that you were a low life for associating with those fucking fools you call friends." Hinata looked at him, shocked and she bit her lip.

"Well!" shouted Sasuke. Hinata jumped at the sudden rise in his voice, and she shook her head.

"Stop, I k-know what you are d-doing." Hinata said with a hint of firmness in her voice.

"And what is that?"

"You are m-making yourself seem evil, and I know y-you are not." Sasuke looked at her, quietly as his face glossed over into a silent expression.

"How do you know that?" The Uchiha heir tried to toy with the Hyuuga heiress, but she was making it exceedingly difficult.

"There is g-goodness in everyone."

"That is truly absurd thinking." Sasuke derided. "You are _so_ weak."

"I am not, the belief in the n-natural goodness in human beings d-doesn't make you weak, it makes you human." Hinata murmured.

"Human beings are not naturally good." Sasuke stated, icily. "You have been sheltered too much, Hyuuga."

"That is not true."

"Hmph, whatever!" Sasuke grunted. "It is hard to believe that you have this free time, don't you have training to do or whatever shinobi do in Konohagakure, go protect some poor defenseless village or save a family from a burning building"

"Please don't mock us." Hinata pleaded.

"I _will_ do whatever I want"

"I need to get going." The Hyuuga heiress said, quickly. "P-please, excuse me, Uchiha-san, it was a pleasure seeing y-you today."

_A pleasure? I just insulted your ass and you keep treating me with such gentleness. What the fuck is wrong with you?_

Sasuke watched Hinata walk past him, and he turned around. "Wait." He watched her stop in her tracks, she didn't look back at him, and he heard her sniffle.

_Is she crying?_

"Just l-leave me alone." The Hyuuga's voice cracked.

_She is so damn sensitive._

"Look." Sasuke said, curtly. "I'm sorry." His voice gave no hint of a true apology. It was empty and cold. The Hyuuga heiress turned around, and her eyes were glossy. Sasuke could tell that she was about to cry, perhaps not in sadness, maybe frustration, but she was holding back.

"No, y-you are not."

"Look, you got those words to utter from my mouth that is the most anyone has gotten out of me." The Uchiha heir's voice was harsh and filled with contempt. "So consider yourself to be honored." The Hyuuga heiress nodded at him, and she bowed to him.

"I must be g-going, enjoy your day, Uchiha-san"

"Sure, whatever," Sasuke said, dismissively. He watched her turn on her heels, walking in the opposite direction from where they were, and Sasuke groaned in agitation. This was going to take longer than he initially thought.

**Please review the story, I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you all enjoyed it as there will be more to come- FireGladiator**


	3. Conditions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, or any aspect of it. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

The Beauty of Power

Chapter 3

Hinata considered herself to be a kind, considerate young woman, however there was so much that she could take. Her few encounters with the Uchiha heir had cause a slight anger to arise from the pit of her stomach. The Hyuuga heiress hated the feeling, the feeling of anger, and often she tried to push it away by occupying herself with other activities. Although, this was only a temporarily relief from it. The main thing that Hinata detested was to visibly show anger, she made herself mask it with a kind expression, because it meant that she had allowed the anger to fester inside of her soul. Hinata did her best to brush off the emotion, she had seen what anger does it individuals, making them commit horrible actions just out of spite, and she didn't want that to be her. Yet, the Hyuuga heiress had allowed herself to tear up in front of the Uchiha heir, it was out of sadness and pure tiredness. She had only encountered Sasuke twice, and he had insulted her, demeaned every fiber of her being. Hinata was tired of being insulted by the Uchiha heir, and she had done nothing to evoke such harsh words. However, she had allowed a moment of weak self-control, and she talked to the Uchiha heir without stuttering. He had even noticed this change in her way of speaking. The main reason why Hinata stuttered in the first place was she was extremely timid, and Hinata felt that a direct manner of speaking was a bit abrasive. In addition, the Hyuuga heiress had been taught that a woman should never raise her voice above a certain intonation which is why kept her speech low. But Surely! Her kindness was being tested! The Hyuuga heiress was saddened, deeply by the words of Sasuke, his insults cut her deep as it would any sensitive young woman. The words stripped her bare, and made her vulnerable. Hinata thought she was past being someone's punching bag, but apparently not. Yet, the Hyuuga heiress felt a sort of sadness for the Uchiha heir. She had heard all of the talk around town about how he should go back to where he came, and that he didn't belong here. Wasn't this his original home? Was not Konohagakure where the Uchiha clan originated from? What feeling it must be to know that you are not even welcome in your hometown?

The Hyuuga heiress didn't see anyone hang around Sasuke neither. What loneliness. It was a known fact that humans needed to interact with one another from being a fetus to when you grew old. Sasuke didn't have that interaction, his family was ripped out of his life, and people's fear of him kept them from being even a few feet from him.

Was insulting people the only way that Sasuke knew how to reach out to someone?

Hinata knew that there was goodness in the Uchiha heir underneath his icy demeanor, and if she were to share this with anyone. They were think she was crazy including her own friends. Did the Uchiha heir intentionally make himself to appear more evil to others and why not? Everyone had perceived him to be evil and after a while, it would not surprise Hinata that he would think this as well. The corruption of the goodness of human beings was not born, it was created.

Then, what would she do when she saw the Uchiha heir again? As Hinata had suspected that she would see him again. Would she be prepared for his insults? Hinata sighed to herself as she stirred the pot of leek soup, and the smell played on her olfactory senses. She had on her usual attire, a white apron draped over them, and a pair of socks with bedroom shoes. The Hyuuga heiress knew that if her father, Hiashi, saw her dressed like this he would automatically give a look of disapproval, but Hinata didn't mind. Hiashi liked both Hinata as well as her sister, Hanabi to be dressed like Hyuuga royals they were even when around the house. But to be honest, Hinata didn't really care about being dressed in the finest silk kimonos or to be showered with the finest gifts. Hinata seasoned the broth of the soup, and she hymned to herself. She looked up when she heard footsteps come into the kitchen, and one of the servants smiled at her.

"What is that delicious smell?" Usami asked, curiously.

"Leek soup, I figured that I-I would make it for you all to show my a-appreciation for all the hard work that you do for my family and me." Hinata smiled at her, gently, and the young woman walked up to her.

"This is too kind, Hinata-sama."

"The soup will be ready in a few moments, c-can you please round u-up the others and go to the dining room." Hinata pleaded. "I will bring y-you out the bowls."

"A-absolutely not!" The woman looked at Hinata, horrified. "We are s-supposed to serve you!"

"It is not a q-question." The Hyuuga heiress kept a warm expression on her face, and the young woman looked at her, speechless. However, a small grin began to play on her lips, and she nodded at Hinata.

"Very well, Miss Hyuuga." Hinata watched her walk out of the kitchen, the Hyuuga heiress pulled out about twenty bowls, and she lined them neatly on a silver tray. She grabbed a ladle, dividing out each portion of the soup into each bowl, and heard the chatter of servants as they made their way to the dining room. Hinata grabbed the tray, carrying it out to them, and she slid open the door. She walked into the room, the servants looked at her in awe as she placed the bowls in front of them, and Hinata chuckled. She placed her hands together in delight as a rose color rose on her cheeks.

"I-I hope you all like it." Almost at her request, they all grabbed the bowls, and took bites. There were sounds of pure delight as the soup touched their tongues, and Hinata was shocked when she was met with their elated faces.

"This is amazing, Miss Hyuuga!" they shouted in unison

"I'm so glad you like it." Hinata beamed.

XXXXXXX

The Next day

Naruto sat in a huge velvet patted chair, and he stared at the pile of papers before him. He tapped his pencil against the hard surface of the desk, his eyes were bored, but a small smile was on his face. Honestly, Naruto loved being Hokage, protecting his wife, the villagers, but he detested all of the paper work. The paper work ranged from building approvals to new agreements between villages. The young Hokage had managed to slip away from the paperwork, tried to establish a friendly term with Sasuke, but it was clear that Sasuke didn't want that establishment. It was nice to have Sasuke back into Konohagakure, he hadn't seen Sasuke in so long after the war, and had often wondered if Sasuke was even living anymore. Sure, Naruto had had some gossip of within other villages saying that they had saw him, but he didn't know the validity of those words. Sasuke had remained off the grid for a long time since now. The young Hokage didn't know if Sasuke had fallen ill or possibility been killed off, although the possibility of a potent aliment was more of a logical explanation. Despite, the Uchiha heir's unwillingness to be sociable with anyone, it almost felt as if the old team was back at least within the perimeters of living within the same village as one another.

_Why are you really here, Sasuke, I thought you loathed this place. _Naruto contemplated to himself. _What could overcome your hatred for this place?_

The door swung open causing Naruto to snap out of his thoughts, and he perked up.

"Naruto-sama!" Shizune rushed into the office, and Naruto looked at her, surprised.

"Oh, hey, is something wrong?" Naruto's eyebrows furrowed together inn confusion, and Shizune bowed to him. Shizune handed him a pile of papers.

"This is the report you have requested over the crimes that have been occurring a lot lately in the districts of Konohagakure." Naruto looked at her, intently as he took the papers, and he opened it. The Jinchuuriki began to read aloudly.

"According to claims made by the villagers, there have been over 300 incidents of robberies both household and on the streets. Some of these robberies have led to some vicious assaults, one recorded incident was a pregnant woman who was assaulted for some money in her pocket." The blond headed Hokage grimaced at the more that he read. "Furthermore, the villagers claim that these heinous acts are committed by a group of men ranging from early twenties to early forties, and they wear a headpieces that cover half of their faces."

"We have more intel as what the men look like, it is four to be precise, one man is brown headed with chocolate brown eyes, and pallid skin. The second man has orange hair with honey eyes, and he is said to be rather robust. The third man is very muscular, and he is quite skilled at kendo. He has long black hair and green eyes. Finally, the fourth man who is said to be the ring leader is thin with blond hair and gray eyes with fair skin." Shizune explained. "We have received the description form a man who was assaulted last night from them, and we have reason to believe that they are merely doing these acts to gain things that they don't have."

"We have to put an end to this now!" Naruto slammed the papers on his desks, and he stood up, quickly. "Shizune, can you please get Sakura, Hinata, Ino to come here, and I will assign them to look for these men. I will have them keep looking for these men until they find them, I want this village to be as safe as possible."

"Hai!" Shizune turned on her heels, exiting out the door, and Naruto turned around to look out the window.

The safety of Konohagakure was one of the highest priorities of the Jinchuuriki host, and he would make sure that nothing disturbed that.

XXXXXXX

"How do you feel?" Ino asked, skeptically. She looked at Sakura with a raised eyebrow, and Sakura smiled at her.

"How I feel about what?" Sakura asked, stupidly. She knew perfectly well what the conversation was about, it was about Sasuke Uchiha.

"You know damn well what I mean." Ino shook her head as a smile came across her face. "About Sasuke Uchiha is staying here in Konohagakure."

"It is not like it is forever." Sakura gave Ino a sour look, and Ino shook her head.

"You have been so quiet since you heard the news, but I know that Sakura Haruno is never quiet, so what is going on through that mind of yours?

"Nothing." Sakura looked over Konohagakure from on top of building, a faint breeze blew her short hair across her face, and the sun started to rise in the daylight sky. Sakura didn't want to talk about Sasuke. That was an old wound in more ways than one.

"Don't give me that shit." Ino flipped her long blond ponytail over her shoulder, and she looked forward at the citizens who looked like ants from where they were. "Tell me."

"If you must know, I don't trust him." Sakura murmured. "I mean he would have killed me if Naruto had not intervened in our quarrel all those years back, and I came to realize something."

"And what is that?"

"That Sasuke Uchiha is not the same man he was when he was here, when he left Konohagakure, he left himself here, and the man he is now doesn't resemble the man we knew when we were preteens." Sakura explained. "It is hard to believe that they are the same person, I mean he did aid us in the war, so I will give him that."

"Is that why you have been avoiding the estate?" Ino looked at Sakura, intently, and Sakura met her gaze.

"Yes, it is." Sakura admitted. " and honestly, I think that I am doing him a favor, he doesn't care if he sees me, Naruto or anyone that he knew once before, but Naruto constantly seeks him out, Naruto thinks that he can change Sasuke even after all of these years since the war."

Ino chuckled at her pink haired friend. "But Naruto that husband of yours he is pretty amazing, he can change anyone, he has incredible powers of persuasion."

"Yeah." Sakura smiled at the thought of Naruto, her husband, her confidant, and the man dearest to her heart. "But, I think Naruto has limitations to his power of persuasion when it comes to Sasuke, I think it would take someone other than Naruto to even bring Sasuke to the thought of changing."

"And who do you pretell that to be?"

"Who indeed is the correct question?" Sakura murmured, lowly. Her thoughts were interrupted when a young shinobi male dropped down in front of them, and she looked at him, shocked.

"Sakura, Ino, Naruto has requested for you all to see him immediately."

"What is wrong?" Sakura asked, concerned. "Is everything alright?"

"It about the crime situation within the districts." Explained the young shinobi. "It has escalated." Sakura nodded at him as a determined look came across her face, and she turned to Ino.

"Let's go." She watched Ino chuckle at her, and she bent her legs.

"Bossy as ever." Ino teased. Sakura teased as she made her way to the hokage's office.

XXXXXX

Hinata entered the room, she looked at Sakura and Ino with surprise.

"Oh, sakura-san, I d-didn't know that y-you would be here." Hinata said. "You either, Ino-chan."

"Hinata-san, it is so nice to see you again." Sakura smiled, warmly. "I haven't seen you since after the war."

"Hey, Hinata." Hinata watched Naruto grinned at her.

"Hinata-san!" he exclaimed. "I haven't seen you in ages, how have you been?"

"G-good, Thank you for a-asking."

"We so all need to hang out." Naruto groaned.

"Why are we here, it is about the crimes right?" Ino asked, curiously.

"Yes, there have been a recent number of assaults and I wanted you all to check it out." Naruto explained. "Can you do that for me, guys?"

"Of course" Sakura smiled at Naruto and Naruto grinned at her. Hinata smiled at the two lovers, sure, Naruto had been her first love, but it gave her pleasure to see him so happy.

"Please be careful, Sakura." Naruto pleaded. Sakura leaned over, giving him a light kiss on the cheek causing his face to turn beet red, and she chuckled at him.

"Of course I will be."

"Geez, get a room you two." Ino groaned. Hinata watched Sakura's face turn red, and Ino took her hand. "Let's get out of here before they have a make out fest."

"Okay." The Hyuuga heiress said, looking at Sakura over her shoulder. "S-sorry, Sakura-san."

"Don't apologize on behalf of her." Sakura smiled. "That's so Ino." Hinata nodded at her, and they walked out of the office.

"I-I will take the e-eastern district." The Hyuuga heiress volunteered. "I k-know it very well."

"Okay, then I will take the northern and western, and Ino do you want to take the southern?"

"Yea, I will." Ino chimed.

"Okay, we will meet back here if anything is found and if any of us knows that we haven't come up and we will come after you." Sakura explained. "Please be careful, Hinata-san, and Ino-san."

"You too." They said in unison. The three kunoichi broke away from one another, each one heading to their desire district, and Hinata ran as fast as she could. The Hyuuga heiress made her way to the eastern district, she had expected to see some unrest, but the villagers seemed to be their quiet usual daily routine. However, she heard a strangled cry that sent chills down her spine, and she ran in direction of the scream. She saw a young woman standing over her husband who had his arms wrapped around his waist, and Hinata activated her byakugan. Two men stood over the couple, and one of them had a small sword.

"Should we finish him, Nokuzuho?" The orange haired man asked, menacingly.

"I think we should, Kenbii." The man with the small sword pointed it towards the young woman, and the young woman looked at them, fearfully. However, the two aggressors perked up at the sound of footsteps, and turned around. Hinata watched the young men catch sight of her, and they ran in the opposite direction.

"S-stay here, p-please." Urged Hinata. "I will get medical h-help for your companion." The young woman nodded at her as tears streamed down her face, but Hinata could tell that the man had couple of broken ribs. The Hyuuga heiress ran after Nokuzuho and Kenbii as they descended into a crowd of citizens.

XXXXXX

Sasuke walked the streets of Konohagakure, he had the hood of his cloak over his head, and the villagers had grown accustomed to him. There was no excessive chatter when he walked by, they had kept it to themselves, but they aggravated the Uchiha heir to know end. With their happy smiles and living their happy lives.

_What a fucking joke. _

The Uchiha heir had not seen the Hyuuga heiress for days, and he was starting to question himself. Should he wait for the Hyuuga heiress to comply with being his ally or should he _make_ her become his ally? He had grown wary of Konohagakure it had only been a few days, and Sasuke had enough of it for a lifetime. There was a sudden stir among the crowd of hoi polloi, and some people started to gasp. The Uchiha heir stopped as he saw two young men push past the villagers, knocking down stands and he looked at them, intently. Their faces were full of pride, and a smirk was plastered on their faces.

"Hey!" shouted a woman who was pushed by one of the men, and some of the surrounding villagers helped her up. The Uchiha heir went to turn around, ignoring the scene, but he caught sight of indigo hair. He turned around, quickly, and the Hyuuga heiress ran through the crowd at full force. She had byakugan activated, and kunai in her hands. She threw the kunai at one of the men, and Nokuzuho deflected it with his sword.

_Pathetic, she can't even hit someone who is no more than a few feet away from her. _

The men made their way towards the Uchiha heir, and they caught sight of Sasuke. Kenbii gasped in dismay, Sasuke stood there, quietly, and he tried to turn the other corner. Sasuke moved, quickly, and the man started to scream. Sasuke grabbed the collar of Kenbii's shirt, lifting him off the ground, and he caught sight of Nokuzuho He held out his foot, tripping Nokuzuho, and the man collapsed on the ground. Nokuzuho's sword fell out of his hand, and it landed a few feet away from him. Sasuke smirked to himself as he watched Nokuzuho try to scramble to his feet, and he placed his foot on the man's back, inhibiting him. However, Nokuzuho and Kenbii were too afraid to say anything, and Sasuke looked at Hinata who ran up in front of him.

"Uchiha-san." Hinata said, breathlessly

"You wanted to catch these men right?" Sasuke asked, coldly. His grip tightening on the collar of Kenbii's shirt.

"You s-shouldn't treat him so h-harshly, Uchiha-san."

"Hmph!" grunted Sasuke. "You're so weak with your kindness even towards your enemies." Hinata pursed her lips, her byakugan deactivated, and she shook her head.

"S-stop insulting me." Hinata murmured, lowly. Her voice reflecting a slight assertion. Sasuke looked at her, taken aback, and he found himself, smirking.

_So the gentle heiress did have a backbone after all. _

"You have to give me a reason not to insult you." Sasuke hissed, icily, "you threw this kunai and didn't even hit these weaklings, they don't even have a blood limit, and they are just ordinary humans." He increased his pressure of his foot on Nokuzuho, and he let out a whimper.

"There are p-people around, Uchiha-san, I-I cannot risk hurting them." Hinata said, kindly.

"Casualties are always a part of being a shinobi if I remembered correctly." Sasuke scoffed at her reasoning.

"And what if I h-hit you, Uchiha-san?" Hinata asked, curiously.

"I don't need your concern, you could never hit me." Sasuke sneered.

"P-please put the m-man down, Uchiha-san." Hinata's pleas were kind and gentle. Kenbii began to fumble with his words.

"P-please listen to h-her, let-" Sasuke cut him off.

"Shut the fuck up you worthless piece of shit." Sasuke looked at the whining young man he was holding up. "And if you want him, come and get him." He watched the heiress gulp, she walked up to him, and she reached to grab the man. Sasuke watched her, intently, she kept her eyes on his face, but evading eye contact.

_Avoiding direct eye contact eh? _

When Hinata touched Kenbii's shirt, Sasuke let go of him, letting him fall to the ground and the man trembled, violently.

"Hmph!" grunted Sasuke. "You got guts, I must admit, no one would have accepted that offer." He watched a flicker of surprise come across her face, and a smile settled on her lips.

"Why are you chasing these idiots?"

"They have been involved in a serious of r-robberies here in the eastern d-district." Hinata's voice was angelic, and she reached out to help Kenbii who was clearly distraught. However, the man smirked at her, Sasuke took notice of this, but he didn't bother to aid the Hyuuga heiress_. _The man pulled out a small knife out of his pocket, and he tightened his grip on the handle.

_Don't tell me that she is that gullible. _

Kenbii tried to cut the Hyuuga heiress, she turned on her heels, and Hinata hit the back of his neck. His body stiffened as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed on the ground. Sasuke chuckled at her, and he saw a look of confusion spread across her face.

"I was wrong about you, Hyuuga, it seems you can take care of yourself." He watched Hinata smile at him, warmly, and Sasuke met her smile with a smirk.

_It seems I may have rooked you in after all. _

"Hinata!" a voice shouted. Sasuke looked to see Sakura running down the way with Ino trailing behind her, and he cursed underneath his breath. Seeing Sakura was even more agitating than seeing her fucking dobe of a husband, Naruto, and Sasuke lifted his foot off Nokuzuho. He kicked Nokuzuho over to Hinata, and his onyx eyes bore into pale ones.

" look in order for me to stop insulting you, to stop thinking so little of you, you need to fight me, and I will be waiting for you tomorrow at sunrise in the kukoji forest." Sasuke hissed. "Anyways, I am leaving." He walked away from the heiress, hearing the two kunoichi run up to her, and Sasuke smirked to himself. The Uchiha heir had a feeling that Hinata would be there, a sort of excitement washed over him, and he found himself looking forward to tomorrow.

After all, in this world, people wanted to prove their self-worth to someone, and Hinata was no different from them.

**Please review the story, I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you all enjoyed it as there will be more to come- FireGladiator**


	4. The value of self-worth

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, or any aspect of it. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

The Beauty of Power

Chapter 4

The sun started to rise over the horizon, the light penetrating through the trees, and a faint breeze blew the raven colored hair of the Uchiha heir. Sasuke Uchiha stood in the forest, and his hand rested on the hilt of his katana. The katana peeked out of the curtain of his cloak, and the cloak blew in the gentle wind. His sharingan was activated, the movement of the animals in the trees were slowed down in front of him, and a smirk played on his lips. He had been waiting long before the sunrise for the arrival of Hyuuga heiress, and Sasuke was growing impatient. He was never fond of patience, often times, Sasuke just took what he wanted right then and there. However, the Uchiha heir realized that he had not given her a specific time as to when they should have their quarrel, but he did that, purposefully. Sasuke wanted to keep the timing ambiguous, but he knew that she wouldn't make him wait for too long. After all, she was born of noble birth, she knew noble customs, and one custom was not to be late to anything. Sasuke would wait for the Hyuuga heiress to arrive even if it took all day, but if she didn't show up. The Uchiha heir would make sure that she would pay for wasting his time.

XXXXX

Hinata placed a kunai in a pouch on the side of her leg, and she bit her lip. She wasn't quite sure if she should meet Sasuke in the kukoji forest or not, he said that he would stop insulting her once she fought against him, however Hinata had a feeling that he wouldn't hold back. Sure, she had perfected her byakugan, the Hyuuga heiress had even achieved one of the highest techniques for her byakugan, but that wouldn't be enough to stand up against Sasuke's sharingan. If she was going to do this, Hinata would have to try to avoid being caught by those eyes, and make sure that she methodically changed her movements. Furthermore, Hinata would have to make sure that she caught sight of the Uchiha heir's vital chakra points, and deplete them before he resorted to any kinds of special jutsus. However, Hinata detested confrontation with anyone, especially physical conformation, so this was difficult. Hinata walked out of the estate, contemplating these thoughts, and she started to plan out what she would do when she came face to face with him. The Hyuuga heiress would not, immediately fight against him, but instead she would merely try to talk it out their differences. Why must the world always settle their differences with fighting? However, Hinata had a feeling that conversing about it wouldn't solve the problem. The Hyuuga heiress sighed to herself, and she turned the corner. She made sure that no one was following her, and Hinata made her way to the forest. Hinata pushed past the kukoji forest until she caught sight of a figure standing in an opening in the forest, and she made her way, cautiously to the opening.

"Uchiha-san." Sasuke turned around to face her, and she caught sight of his activated sharingan. Hinata bit her lip, and the Uchiha heir began to unsheathe his katana.

"So you came after all." Sasuke stated, coolly. "I was starting to wonder if you could even live up to your Hyuuga name."

"I-I didn't come here to f-fight, Uchiha-san." Hinata held up her hands in front of her, defensively. "I-I just wanted to talk things out."

"Talking?" The Hyuuga heiress could see that this displeased Sasuke, and she was met with an icy visage. "Talk is senseless, I didn't come here to fucking talk to you."

"a-aren't you tried of fighting?" He didn't answer her question, Hinata could tell that he was growing anxious, and he threw off his cloak.

_Looks like I am going to have to fight him after all. _

Hinata looked at him, she got in a stance and she activated her byakugan. She was taken aback at the amount of chakra that poured out of his body, it emanated from everywhere that she couldn't pinpoint an exact location of his chakra, and she knew this was going to prove to be hard.

"Be careful, Hyuuga, I can see you planning." She gasped at him, his words snapping her out of her thoughts, and Sasuke smirked, evilly. The Hyuuga heiress watched a blue electric flow descend down Sasuke's katana, and he charged towards her.

XXXXX

_Am I tired of fighting? _

What kind of fucking question was that supposed to be?

_Hell no, I am not tired. _

That was the main reason why he even chose to interact with her, why he had decided to possibly strike an alliance with her. It was all for the sole purpose of the fight. Fighting provided the Uchiha heir a distracting from the emptiness within him after the Fourth Shinobi War, the emptiness of not belonging in a new world filled with peace. In addition, he didn't purpose this duel to give the Hyuuga heiress a chance for him to stop deeming her existence, but to see if she was worthy of becoming his ally.

_Prove to me, Hyuuga, that you are worthy! _

He raised his katana infused with chidori to cut down the Hyuuga heiress, and she turned the opposite way from him.

"I don't w-want to fight, Uchiha-san." Hinata reiterated. "Please."

"Then you will die." Sasuke knew couldn't let her touch him since it would dampen his chakra flow wherever she hit him. He stared at the Hyuuga heiress, awaiting for her next move, and Hinata charged after him. The Uchiha heir as able to follow her movements with ease which gave him an idea as to where she would hit him. Sasuke held up his sword, ready to cut her down, and she avoided him, bending backwards. The katana swiped the air, catching some of her hair, and Sasuke looked at her, coldly.

"Oh well." Sasuke sneered. "It will grow back." He saw a flick of anger spread across Hinata's face, and she tried to hit him in the side. He turned, kicking her in the back, and he saw her wince. The Hyuuga heiress flipped on her feet, she stood in a different stance, the position of the eight gentle fists, and Sasuke look at her, apathetically. However, Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he began to notice what she was doing, and he moved, quickly.

_There is no way in hell, I am going to let you deplete my chakra. _

Sasuke went to strike her down, she turned the other way, knocking him in the back of his neck, but not depleting the chakra. The Uchiha heir cursed underneath his breath as he stumbled downwards, and his eyes widened. Hinata turned on her heels, appearing beside him, and his lips parted, slightly.

_Hmph! That is a nice surprise. _

"I got you." The Hyuuga heiress hit his side, Sasuke cursed underneath his breath, and he flipped back away from her. Sasuke could tell that she had only weakened his chakra, but it was nothing serious. However, Sasuke was caught a little off guard by the Hyuuga heiress, she had moved fast, faster than his sharingan. He didn't know how she managed to move like that, but it was definitely more of something he wanted to see. Sasuke charged back at her, and his chidori became brighter enclosing the blade.

XXXX

The Hyuuga heiress tried to ignore the stinging pain in the base of her spine that the Uchiha heir had just inflicted, and she held her hands out in front of her, defensively. Hinata could tell that he was serious in every fight, he had the killer intent, and in every fight, Sasuke fought to kill.

_Was he going to try to kill her? _

Hinata avoided him by bending the opposite way as he went to stab her, but instead Sasuke grabbed her jacket, roughly. She looked at him, shocked, and Sasuke stared at her, coolly. He held his sword up in the air, Hinata gasped, slightly as she slipped out of her jacket, and she moved fast underneath him as he stuck the hollow empty air where she would be. Hinata ducked underneath his arm, hitting the arm that generated the chidori. It immediately stopped, she saw him scowl, and Hinata huffed, heavily. She had on a black V-neck sleeveless top, Hinata felt exposed without her jacket on, and the Hyuuga heiress felt him stare at her. She felt her cheeks grow hot. Her cheeks hot in vulnerability and she was starting to grow weary. However, the Hyuuga heiress knew that if she let her guard down for even a second, Sasuke would take advantage of it, and he would draw her blood.

_No, he won't kill me, not if I don't allow him to._

XXXXX

The black top clung to Hinata's thin silhouette, it was a pleasant change from seeing her in the baggy clothing that hid her frame.

_Nice sight to see. _

Sasuke tossed the jacket aside, he didn't seem to dwell on the exposed heiress, and he flipped his katana back into his other hand. He charged back after her, Sasuke could tell that his chakra was half gone as a result of being hit by her twice, and he was not going to allow her to do that again. He hissed, angrily at himself, and Hinata pulled out a kunai. She infused the kunai with some of her chakra, sending them his way, and Sasuke knocked them out of the way. However, one managed to cut his cheek, blood trickled down his cheek, it was only a minor slit on his skin, and the Hyuuga heiress charged after him. The two heir charged for one another head on. Sasuke held up his katana, Hinata went to hit him, but he ducked underneath her. It was the same movement that Hinata had just pulled on him, and he balled up his fist. She noticed his clenched fist, Sasuke punched her in the stomach, and he was met with wide pale eyes. The punch was not hard, but he knew it was enough to knock the breath out of her.

XXXX

Hinata gasped at the loss of air, but she had another trick up her sleeve, and Hinata jumped away from him. She held her stomach, wincing, slightly, and thanking herself that she didn't eat breakfast. Hinata charged after him, moving as fast as she could, and Sasuke stood there, waiting for her. She could tell that he always waited for his opponent. Hinata acted as if she were going to punch him in the arm, she made sure that he was following her movements, and that was precisely what she wanted. She used her other arm, hoping to hit him, but he turned to avoid the hit. Hinata watched him draw back his other hand with chidori as a murderous glare fell over his face, and Hinata speed up her movements. He tried to punch her in the chest with his chidori infused hand, and Hinata gasped at the sight. Hinata avoided the punch, barely, and she pursed her lips. She turned in the opposite way of his movements, hitting him right in the middle of his back where she noticed his chakra was flowing out, and the chidori disappeared. The Hyuuga heiress heard him growl, lowly, kicking her in the side, and she flipped onto the ground a few feet away from them. Hinata's body trembled, violently, as she held her side, and Hinata curled into a ball. Her body whole body ached especially her back, ribs, stomach, and back. Hinata squeezed her eyes shut, she had shown Sasuke that she wasn't weak, but she wasn't sure if that was enough to convince him.

_What do you think of me now?_

XXXX

The Uchiha heir sheathed his katana, it was no use fighting her any further since he could see that she had enough. He was not going to fight against her when she wasn't in perfect condition. The blows that he afflicted upon her had taken a toll on her small, frail body, but Sasuke didn't care. Yet, she had managed to withstand them, and that was more than what most people could take so he had to give her some credit. Also, there were a couple of surprises that she had managed to spring on him, and it keened the Uchiha's interest. Not many people could surprise him in a fight.

No, she _wasn't_ weak. Her ideals and her kind nature made her weak. Nonetheless, he was not here to debate the value of her morals. As long as she could fight, keep the fights good, then she was _not _weak. The Hyuuga heiress was rough around the edges, sloppy with her movements, and seeing her laying on the ground made him scowl.

_Get the fuck up. _

Sasuke walked up to Hinata, and he growled to himself. "Hyuuga." There was no response from the young heiress, the Uchiha heir stopped behind her, and she looked up at him. Her eyes were glossy as if she were fighting back tears, and Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I didn't even hit you hard."

"I-I'm fine." Hinata gave him a kind smile, she waved her hand, dismissively, and she rolled onto her back. Just need an little rest."

"Hmph!" Sasuke grunted. He knelt down next to her, and he studied her. "You can't possibly be in that much pain." Hinata looked at him, quietly, and she shook her head.

"I told you, I-I didn't want to fight, Uchiha-san." Hinata murmured. "tell me, p-please, will you stop insulting me now?"

_Yes, I will stop insulting you. You have proven to be a worthy ally. _

"Yes, I will." Sasuke hissed. "Now, get up, before I change my mind."

XXXX

Hinata nodded at him, lifting up, and a sharp pain in her stomach caught her. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, and she looked up at him. There scratches on her face from where she had hit the ground.

"what k-kind of fighting w-was this?"

"The kind you get when you are not affiliated with a village." said Sasuke, coolly. "The kind of training that would keep you surviving in the real world."

"I thought you were g-going to kill me." There was a silence exchanged between them, and Hinata searched his face.

"No, I won't kill you." Sasuke assured. The Hyuuga heiress looked at him, skeptically, and she pursed her lips.

"You say that."

"I said that I wouldn't" Sasuke hissed, angrily. "That should be enough validation" Sasuke stood up, extending his hand out to her, and Hinata's lips parted, slightly. He deactivated his sharingan, and Sasuke stood up, extending his hand. "Get up, Hinata."

It was the first time he had used her name, it sent chills down her spine, and she stared at him. His pallid skin illuminated in the sunlight, his slanted onyx color eyes juxtaposed with his raven dark hair. It was no wonder that all those years ago, so many women found him to be attractive. He was a very handsome man, but he was dangerous.

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her up onto her feet, and The Hyuuga heiress stumbled forward. She fell into him, pressing herself up against him as she felt her cheeks flush red, quickly, and Sasuke pushed her away, quickly almost as if she had burned him.

"S-sorry!" Hinata stammered, breathlessly. Sasuke glared at her, turning on his heels, and Hinata hit herself against her forehead with her hand as she knew that was a stupid thing to do. She hated her clumsiness, and she saw the small cut on his face.

"Uchiha-san." Hinata gasped, concerned.

"What?" The Uchiha heir exasperated.

"your face is c-cut, allow me to p-please fix it for you." Hinata reached out towards him, she watched him instinctively flinch away from her, and she was met with a murderous glare.

"Don't touch me ever, Hyuuga, its fine." Hinata nodded at her, withdrawing her hand, and she stared at the ground.

_Was he afraid for others to touch him?_

"You should really leave the jacket off." Hinata couldn't see his face only his back, but she looked at him, confused.

_Was that a compliment?_ There was a rustling in the bushes, a familiar chakra came in the air, and Hinata's eyes widened in shock.

XXXXX

"Hey, Hinata, I figured that you would be training here in the forest and decided to join you…" Kiba's voice trailed off, and he caught sight of Hinata's scratches on her face. His eyes narrowed, quickly, and he looked at Sasuke. Sasuke stared back at him, coldly, and Kiba frowned at him. "You bastard, what did you do!" Kiba whistled for Akamaru, Akamaru jumped out of the bushes, and he growled at Sasuke.

"N-no, Kiba." Kiba saw Hinata walk in between Sasuke and Akamaru. "Please, Uchiha-san, and I were s-sparring."

_Sparring? You have more scratches on your face than he does? That hardly characterizes as a spar._

"Hinata, he is dangerous." Kiba warned. "He could have killed you, we all know that his bloodlust is unquenchable even in a friendly spar."

XXXX

"I'm fine." Hinata assured. "I was trying t-to make Uchiha-san feel more a-at home."

"Is that what happened, Uchiha?" Kiba asked, skeptically. Sasuke remained quiet, he walked over to his cloak, and he began to fasten it on his neck.

"I'm going, Hinata, three is a bit of a crowd." The Uchiha heir sneered. Kiba looked at him, angrily, and Sasuke tossed Hinata's jacket over to her. She caught her jacket, looking at him, shocked, and the Uchiha pushed past her. He knocked her shoulder, causing her to stumble backwards, and she saw Kiba ball up his fists.

"Watch where you are going, asshole!" He walked up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, and she smiled at him.

"Are you okay?" Kiba asked, curiously. Hinata nodded at him, Sasuke stopped before he left the opening of the forest, and he looked at her out the corner of his eye.

"See you around, Hyuuga." She stared at him as he disappeared in the forest, and Hinata knew that she had not seen the last of him. No, in fact, the Hyuuga heiress had a feeling that she would see him more than ever before.

**Please review the story, I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you all enjoyed it as there will be more to come- FireGladiator. **


	5. A new outlook

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, or any aspect of it. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

The Beauty of Power

Chapter 5

Sasuke sat in the living room of the estate, he had on a men's white kimono, and he stared at the wall. The small cut that the Hyuuga heiress had inflicted upon him was nothing, but a faint scar. However, the Uchiha heir didn't really care, hell, his whole body was covered with scars. Scars from the multitude of the battles juxtaposed with the dark enigmatic symbol of the cursed seal. Yet, the laceration reminded the Uchiha heir that there was some potential in that Hyuuga heiress. Shit, not many people could actually get close enough to the Uchiha heir with his sharingan activated, and scratch him. He had promised not to kill her, but Sasuke felt the need to elaborate on that a little further in his mind. The promise was foreign to him, the Uchiha heir had never promised anything to anyone in such a long time that he surprised himself. He still knew the way to make them. All of Sasuke's promises had been fulfilled, the promise to kill Itachi, to become stronger, to leave this dead weight of a village, he had done it all with blood stained hands. The Uchiha heir was a lot of things, a traitor, murder, a demon, but he was rarely the one to go back on his word. No, he would not kill her, but there were many ways to inflict death upon someone without actually killing them. If the situation came to pass where Sasuke found himself on the opposing side of her, he would merely impale her, avoiding any direct contact with major organs, and she would bleed to death. However, there was another problem that the Uchiha heir had not foreseen, but should have. The Hyuuga heiress came with _unwanted_ bonds. This was made apparent when the Uchiha heir was fighting with her, and he had come in contact with the Inuzuka. The more that he was around her, who knows who else he would come in contact with! Other insignificant shinobi that Sasuke didn't give a fuck about. Did he really want that? The Uchiha heir grimaced to himself, and he cursed underneath his breath.

_Fuck. _

Sasuke rubbed his temples in agitation, but he knew the answer to his question. He refused to acknowledge it though. The answer was simple, the Uchiha heir would have to deal with it because it was part of the package of having her as his ally. A very agitating part of the package.

XXXX

Hinata couldn't believe how much her body ached from her spar with Sasuke, she had soaked in multiple hot baths to soothe the muscles, but it was futile. The Uchiha heir had done a number on her. However, the Hyuuga heiress refused to let anyone know how much she was in pain, she didn't want it to hinder her from her daily tasks or training. However, she did notice a couple of things about the Uchiha heir as they sparred with one another. Hinata could tell that he enjoyed the fight, savored every moment of it, but at the same time like to end it, quickly. The Hyuuga heiress could tell this not only by his actions, but red eyes revealed it. This would not have been clearly evident to an everyday person since all they saw was his icy visage, and the permanent indifferent line of his mouth. However, Hinata was a quite an observant young woman, slow to speak or take action. Often times, she could tell what people were feeling through their eyes, it was a talent that she had developed since she was a little girl. Hinata saw the Uchiha heir's eyes were empty, sometimes deviating to a very minute flicker of emotion. She could tell that Sasuke had eradicated himself of any kind of emotion. He had trained himself not to feel from what Hinata could see. This perplexed her to a certain degree. When her kunai hit him, did he feel anything? Pain? Or was it just a mere cut? Hinata looked down on the ground, in tune with her thoughts, and a hand rested on her shoulder.

"Hinata, are you okay?" Ino asked, curiously. Hinata blinked at her twice, snapping out of her contemplations, and a small smile spread across her face.

"S-sorry, Ino-san, w-what did you say?" Hinata looked at her, apologetically, and Ino chuckled at her.

"It is fine, Hinata-san, it is your turn." Ino beckoned to the sack dummy that stood a few feet away from them, the dummy had a huge target drawn across the front of it, and Hinata nodded at her. She reached into the small pouch on the side of her leg, and pulled out some shuriken. Kiba sat underneath the tree, she felt him stare at her, intently, and she bit her lip. They had not discussed Hinata being with Sasuke the other day in the kukoji forest, however she had a feeling that he wanted to say something just didn't know how to approach her. Shikamaru stood, lazily next to him with his shoulders slumped into a casual posture, and his face was bored. Sakura practiced on the other dummy, the dummy was lined with kunai, and she had a determined look on her face. Often times, when there was no duties to do such as today, Hinata found herself training with some friends to pass by the time. Hinata threw the shuriken, hitting the dummy, however her side caught her. She winced at the sharp pain, and her hand instinctively reached for her side.

"Hey, Hinata, are you okay?" Kiba got up, and his eyebrows furrowed together in concern.

"Oh, yes, n-no worries."

"Are you hurt?" Ino asked, curiously. Hinata shook her head, but Kiba sighed.

"The gig is up, Hinata, you should tell them." Her eyes widened at him, Kiba looked at her, intently, and Ino looked at her, confounded.

"Tell us what?"

"N-n-"Hinata was cut off.

"She is hurt from her spar with Sasuke from a couple of days ago." Kiba crossed his arms, walking up to her, and Hinata bit her lip. Sakura had stopped throwing the shuriken, the color drained from her face, and her mouth hung agape. Hinata hated to be placed on the spot, Ino looked at her wide-eyed, and Hinata looked at the ground.

"I thought y-you were going to keep that b-between us." Hinata murmured.

"I would have." Kiba sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder, and she felt him squeeze it, affectionately. "But look at you, you are hurt because of him." The Hyuuga heiress knew that her old friend, Kiba, had nothing bit her best interest at heart, and she greatly appreciated it. However, she was able to make her own judgments about anyone regardless of how absurd they may seem to others.

"You spared with Sasuke?" Sakura asked almost absentmindedly. Hinata nodded at her in agreement, and she smiled at all the shinobi looking upon her.

"I w-wanted him to feel like he was at home." Hinata explained. "I mean who wants to be c-cooped up in that estate the whole t-time?"

"Well!" Ino said with a wide smile on her face. "You are the first person who has been able to draw him out of that estate!"

"Not even Naruto could do it." Sakura frowned at Hinata. "How did you do it?"

"I was in the forest, saw him t-training, and I offered to s-spar with him." Hinata lied. She couldn't tell them that she had purposely agreed to meet the Uchiha heir to fight for her self-worth that would be added more fire to an already intense situation especially for Kiba.

"And he accepted?" Kiba asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Of course."

"Speaking of I have been seeing you two interact with one another a lot." Ino frowned at her. "Like when we caught those bandits, he was around you and now we find out that you have been sparring with him." he has been around you a lot." Her voice was teasing, and Hinata turned red in embarrassment.

"I am n-not sure why."

"be careful, Hinata." Sakura warned. "His interest in you with caution, there is no pure genuine need for human contact with him unless he want something from you."

"Thank you, Sakura-san." Hinata knew that there was validity in all of the warnings about Sasuke, but she couldn't help, but feel that there was a sort of loneliness about him. Shikamaru stood there, quietly, and she perked up when he sighed, heavily.

"Geez, you guys need to stop giving her the third degree, she is fully capable of handling herself." Shikamaru groaned.

"Well, he could just want to be around someone, after all, Hinata-san is so kind and warm, it is no wonder that someone would want to reach out through her."

"I doubt that is the reason." Hinata saw Kiba scoff at Ino, and she looked at Sakura. Sakura seemed to be deep in thought, she knew that there was a time that sakura had been set on rehabilitating Sasuke, so hearing the news must had affected her to some degree. Hinata had been able to interact with the Uchiha heir more than Naruto had been able to do.

"Well, you should have told us." Shikamaru beckoned to an empty space underneath the trees. "Why don't you sit down and relax."

"I-I didn't want to worry you g-guys."

"Well, you have me worried being around Sasuke." Objected Kiba.

"I will keep a look out, I-I promise" Hinata assured. "Now let's get back to t-training, it is not many days that we get w-without duties."

"Agreed!" Ino shouted. Ino pulled out a kunai, resuming her training, and Kiba nodded at Hinata. Hinata smiled at him, he was so protective of her like an older brother, but she didn't want to dwell on the matter any further. She watched Sakura as she trained, her face was intense, and she was smiling at everyone. However, Hinata could tell that she was bothered. The Hyuuga heiress didn't want to be the cause of any quarrel between the two nor did she want to make trouble for Sasuke. However, Hinata had an idea that Sasuke was fully aware of this possibility, and that he was fully prepared to take it on. She was also ready to deal with all the attention that it brought on, every human deserved a chance in life, and Sasuke was no exception to that rule.

XXXX

Sakura had to admit that she was baffled by the news concerning Hinata and Sasuke. Sasuke had chosen to interact with most unlikely person in the world in her opinion. Furthermore, he didn't even know Hinata, so why her? Hinata was a beautiful, timid young woman, but she was also Hyuuga. The heiress to the most powerful clan to Konohagakure, Sakura figured that was the only reason why Sasuke had taken interest in her, and she needed to confront him about it. Hinata was a very dear friend to Naruto, she had not known the Hyuuga heiress too well, but anyone important to Naruto was important to her. Sakura was not looking forward to seeing him face to face again. After the war, she was glad that he had parted ways despite Naruto's best efforts to keep in Konohagakure. When she saw the Uchiha heir, it only reminded her of how he tried to kill her, and that was not something she wanted to relive. Sakura walked up to the dummy, and she started to collect the shuriken.

"Hey, sakura, you're going?" Ino asked, shocked.

"Oh, yeah, sorry." Sakura smiled at Ino, and she put her shuriken in a side pouch. "Something came up."

"Is this about Sasuke?" Ino looked at her, raising an eyebrow, and she crossed her arms.

"No." The pink haired kunoichi smiled at Hinata, and she waved her hand. "I'll catch up with you later."

"Oh, okay, Sakura-san, I will see you later." She knew that she would have to provide an explanation to Ino later on about her leaving, and sakura bit her lip. She would have to come up with something good. Sakura took off out of the forest, and she headed towards the Uchiha estate. The pink haired kunoichi walked up to the gates to the Uchiha heir's estate, and she knocked on the gates. Her gaze directed to the deadbolt lock on the gates, and the estate seemed empty. There was no response, sakura frowned to herself, and she knocked, forcefully now.

"I know that you are in there, Sasuke." Sakura said, firmly. "Open the gates."

"What pleasure do I have to have your company?" A cold voice said on the other side of the gate. Sakura could see that he had no intention of opening the gates nor to show himself to her.

"You have been hanging around Hinata a lot lately."

"Jealous?" A mocking chuckle escaped from the Uchiha heir's lips.

"No, I want to know what your angle is."

"Angle, I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Sasuke." Sakura growled, lowly. "We all know the only reason why you care to be around others is if it is for your gain." The pink haired kunoichi didn't like to be so assertive with Sasuke since she didn't know when he was going to snap. However, Sakura needed to get her point across to him.

"Oh, that seems a little harsh for you." Sakura flinched, she could tell that Sasuke was toying with her, and she balled up her fists.

"Look, just don't try anything funny."

"And who said that I was?"

"Hinata is a very dear friend to Naruto, if you would do anything to her… then, Naruto and you will find yourselves on opposing sides once again." A dark laugh came from the other side of the gate.

"If I was going to do something to that woman, I would have already done it." The Uchiha heir informed, curtly. "You should of all people know this."

"So tell me why are you talking or sparring with her?" Sakura asked, skeptically. "If you are not planning something?"

"Don't you have something better to do than to badger me, bitch?" Sakura felt her cheeks grow hot in anger at the insult, and she grimaced.

"Just heed the warning, Sasuke." Talking with The Uchiha heir like this, in this matter, brought a sort of sadness to her. He was once a good ally, but now look at the two. The two former teammates couldn't even be a few feet near one another. It was hard to believe how far he had fallen from what he could have been. Sasuke could have been one of the strongest shinobi, but instead he had chosen a path that brought glory to those who you triumphed over.

"Whatever." The pink haired kunoichi nodded at Sasuke, turning on her heels, and she figured that Naruto would soon learn about the two's interaction. However, she was not going to mention it to him, Naruto had enough of his plate, and she didn't want to add to his stress. Despite, Sasuke's denial for planning something, Sakura would keep her guard up because trusting him was like trusting the devil.

XXXX

Sasuke stood on the other side of the fence with clinched fists. He stared at the small pond in the yard with different colored fish swimming throughout it, and he cursed underneath his breath. That bitch thinks that she can keep tabs on me, then she has another thing coming. And who the fuck did Sakura think she was, threatening him? He was Sasuke Uchiha! Last time he checked, he had almost ended her life at one point until she was saved by that overzealous husband on hers. She had a lot of nerve confronting him. These shinobi always like to stick their nose in places that it didn't belong. He didn't see a problem with collaborating with the Hyuuga heiress, he didn't harm her... much. Let alone, last time he checked, she was still breathing so what was everyone's fucking problem? Sasuke had an idea that this was brought on by the Inuzuka who saw the Hyuuga heiress and him in the forest together. No, it couldn't have been the Hyuuga heiress who had brought this down upon him. She was too nice, too kind to speak out against him or anyone for that matter. Hell, Sasuke could make her suffer, and she would still take up for him. The Uchiha heir look out through the cracks of the gate to make sure that he wouldn't be receiving any more surprises, but he caught sight of the Hyuuga heiress walking in the opposite direction of his estate. He opened up the gate, and leaned against it.

"Hyuuga."

"How are you today, Uchiha-san?" Hinata asked with a kind expression on her face. Sasuke's eyes narrowed at her because he was not in the mood to exchange such common pleasantries.

"Hyuuga, tell me why I received a visit from Sakura." He watched her eyes widen in shock, and he looked at her, intently.

"I didn't m-mean to cause any t-trouble for you." Hinata murmured.

"You didn't." The Uchiha heir exasperated. "Your stupid dog friend did."

Hinata looked at him, reluctantly. "He means no harm."

"He is disrupting my peace, so make sure that you keep him on a tight leash." Hinata frowned at him, Sasuke could see that his words bothered her, and he didn't care. He wasn't insulting her was he? She should be happy with that. Furthermore, the Uchiha heir _never_ agreed not to demean any of the incompetent fools she chose to associate herself with.

"Don't talk about my f-friend that way, he was only trying to l-look out for me."

_Don't tell me what I can and cannot do. _However, the Uchiha heir was kind of curious, the Hyuuga heiress had been warned about him, yet she chose to not listen to them. Was she not afraid of him?

"Tell me, Hyuuga, do I scare you?" Sasuke smirked at her, evilly, and Hinata looked at him, speechless.

"What?"

"You heard me don't make me fucking repeat myself, answer the question." Hinata shook her head in response to the question which caused Sasuke to raise an eyebrow.

_You should be afraid of me, Hyuuga. _

"I am not afraid of you." Hinata's voice was clear without the presence of a stammer, and the Uchiha heir knew that she meant that. She didn't stammer when she had her mind made up about something.

"Why are you not afraid of me?" Sasuke asked, annoyed. "And what do you think of me?" He watched her shift uneasy, pursing her lips, and Sasuke could tell that she was hesitant to answer. There was a momentary silence exchanged between them, and he frowned at her. "Answer me."

"I-I think you are lonely." Hinata fumbled with her words. "That is what I-I think, I-I think you push people away purposefully."

_You think I am fucking lonely? What absurdity! But, perhaps to some degree I am. However, not in the way that you think. I am lonely because I don't have a worthy fighting opponent not in this era. So you are correct to some degree. _

The Uchiha heir remained silent.

"I-I am sorry, Uchiha-san, if I have o-offended you."

"Hmph!" Sasuke grunted. He turned on his heels with his back towards her, and Sasuke looked over his shoulder. "You have offended me."

"what?" Hinata looked at her with all the color draining from her face, yet, it was delightful to see her shaken up from him toying with her. "How?"

"You keep calling me, Uchiha-san, Uchiha-san." Sasuke mocked her voice. "I have a name you know, it's Sasuke, start calling me by that." Hinata looked at him, shocked, then she sighed as a warm smile spread across her face.

"Okay, Sasuke-san." The Uchiha heir's back stiffened, and he found himself taken aback by the manner in which she uttered his name.

It was the first time, in years, he had heard someone speak his name in such a benevolent tone.

**Please review the story/or each chapter, I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you all enjoyed it as there will be more to come- FireGladiator. **


	6. The bending of Sasuke Uchiha

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, or any aspect of it. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

The Beauty of Power

Chapter 6

Konohagakure seemed to grow in population, immensely over the course of several days. The streets bustled with more citizens, some of which were a part of the other four great shinobi countries. Furthermore, there seemed to be some kind of elation among all of the villagers, Sasuke couldn't figure out what the fuck it was, but every villager had a huge smile plastered on their face. The Uchiha heir didn't care what the fuck was going on, but one thing was for certain. The more hoi polloi had brought more noise, and this greatly displeased him. The noise penetrated the walls of his estate, and Sasuke found himself unable to concentrate with all of racket. In addition, the disruptions made by the inhabitants were not confined to the daytime, but they prolonged late into the night. Sure! He had a warm bed, but what good would that do if you couldn't even sleep? On several nights, the Uchiha heir found himself staring at the ceiling, and frankly, he was tired of looking at the texture of it. The sleepless nights had put Sasuke in a foul mood, and he had every intention of taking it out on anyone who crossed his path. Sasuke stared at the Hyuuga heiress who was arched forward with her eyes closed, and she was huffing, excessively. There were more scratches on her face, her jacket was stained with dirt from where he had threw her to the ground, and the zipper was down. The loose zipper allowed the jacket to fall off her shoulder, slightly, which revealed her moonlight kissed skin. Her cheeks were rosy red, and her lips were white in dryness. Thick black circles were formed underneath Sasuke's red eyes, and he was paler than usual. Everything agitated the Uchiha heir, the sunlight, the breeze, even his own existence. Normally, with this level of agitation, the Uchiha heir wouldn't be able to tolerate any form of human contact. However, Sasuke found himself not minding the presence of the Hyuuga heiress, in fact, he was at ease much to his surprise. So, maybe the Hyuuga was good for more than just sparring.

_**Just maybe. **_

"Uchiha-san, you look t-tired is everything okay?" Hinata looked at him, concerned. He noticed that she struggled to get the words out of her mouth, no doubt out of the lack of oxygen. Hell, they had been sparring for three hours straight.

"I said don't call me that, Hyuuga." Sasuke hissed, angrily. "You can call me by my name, stop with the fucking formalities already."

"Sorry." A weary smile spread across her face, and the Uchiha heir rubbed his eyes as they faded to their usual onyx color.

"Whatever."

"Sasuke-san, p-please answer the q-question." He heard her plea in her usual delicate voice.

"I am fine, I told you that I am no need for your concern."

"But the b-bags on underneath your e-eyes." Hinata objected.

"You should be concerned about yourself since you look like you are about to fall over." Sasuke stared at Hinata, observing how her body trembled in exhaustion, and Hinata shook her head.

"I-I am fine." The Hyuuga heiress straightened up her back, she took a step forward only to fall to her knees, and she gasped, slightly. Sasuke walked up to her, and he sheathed his katana.

"See, I told you, you should worry about yourself." The Uchiha heir sighed in agitation. "Plus, I don't see how you would be any good to me in this condition, the fight wouldn't even be a fight."

_I am not going to fight you when you are not at your best._

"B-but, you w-want to fight more right?" Hinata sat down, leaning back, and Sasuke knelt down.

"You wouldn't last." Sasuke stated. He didn't say this to insult her, but it was a fact. Hell, he could fight all damn day, and never get tired. However, the Hyuuga heiress couldn't go on much longer, seeing how exhausted she was, and the Uchiha heir didn't want to have to deal with the possibly of her passing out. "Are you not tired?"

"I am." Hinata admitted, shyly. "but, so are you."

"You're not going to let that go are you?" Sasuke stated this rather than asked it because he was fully aware of the answer. "If you must know so much, yes, I am tired."

"Why?"

"Why are you asking so many damn questions?"

"Well, you are my s-sparring partner." Hinata smiled at him, warmly. "It is only natural that I am a-attentive to your well-being."

_Natural? It was __**NOT**__ natural for partners, comrades, teammates or whatever they were to be concerned for one another. _Hell, Sasuke would have gladly killed his comrades if they stood in the way of his goals. In fact, there was one case in which he had impaled Karin, his former…well… whatever you wanted to call her… in order to kill that bastard Danzo. So for Hinata to say such things was completely idiotic. However, this case with her was different from any other situations before, the Hyuuga heiress's existence was important to him. He needed her to be alive so they could spar.

"Hmph!" Sasuke grunted. "You are a tenacious woman, but I will tell you, it is because of all the damn noise going on in this place."

"What noise?" Hinata looked at him, perplexed, and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"How can you not hear it?" Sasuke exasperated. "The village has seemed to come alive over the course of several days, is there something I am not fucking aware of?"

"Oh, yes, they are c-coming for the phoenix festival."

"What in the fuck is the phoenix festival?"

"It is a c-celebration of the new era of p-peace that has fallen over the lands."

_Oh hell! Kill me._

"Fuck that shit." Sasuke scoffed at the idea. "When did this occur?"

"A year after the war." Hinata informed. "It was an a-agreement between all of the five kages."

"I see." Sasuke cursed Konohagakure, it was a pain in his ass in more ways than one, and this just fueled his hatred for it even more. There was no one he could find who wasn't happy with this era of peace, everyone thought it was like a utopia made real, but it was his own personal hell.

"do you not like festivals, Sasuke-san?" The Uchiha heir gaze directed back to the Hyuuga heiress who looked at him, curiously.

"No, I don't."

"How come?"

"You are just full of all kinds of damn questions today aren't you?"

"You don't h-have to answer them, if they make you un-"Sasuke cut her off.

"You don't know how I feel, Hyuuga, don't try to empathize with me." His words were icy and harsh. Hinata nodded at him, looking at the ground, and he scrutinized her. There was a momentary silence exchanged between the two heirs, and he cleared his throat. "I have never been to a festival before."

"Never?" Hinata looked at him, baffled. "Oh y-you must go to one."

"Why?"

"Well…" The Hyuuga heiress looked off in the distance, he could tell that she was searching to give him a good answer, and a small smile settled on her lips. "There are all d-different foods you can try, g-games, and…" Sasuke looked at her, unmoved.

"Those are all unnecessary nuisances, Hyuuga, so when is this festival?"

" I-In a couple of days."

" I see." Something warm trickled down the side of Sasuke's head, he looked down as a droplet fell onto his hand, and he stared at his dark red blood.

_Oh that is right. She managed to cut me more this time around. _

It was at that moment, the Uchiha heir started to become aware of the scratches on his face. He had a gash on the side of his head, and a couple of lacerations on his face from where Hinata had cut him with a couple of chakra infused shuriken. Pain had become so second nature to him that he didn't even realize when he felt it, seeing his blood was nothing to him, and he heard a slight gasp. Sasuke saw a very horrified Hinata stare at him, and she covered her mouth with her hand.

"Sasuke-san, the sparring w-was too much, I-I have really hurt you." Her voice was filled with regret, and Sasuke watched her reach out a hand towards him.

"I warned you once, not to ever touch me, I'll break your hand if you do, and that is a promise." The tonality of his voice was threatening. The Uchiha heir saw Hinata withdraw her hand, nodding at him, and she kept her eyes on the gash.

"doesn't that hurt?"

_No. _The endless battles made him a slight masochist.

"Where are all your baby sitters?" Sasuke evaded the question. "I haven't come face to face with any of them today."

"I am sure that they are b-busy with the influx of villagers c-coming in for the festival." The Uchiha heir noticed her eyes became wide as she uttered the words. It seemed that the Hyuuga heiress had a sudden epiphany, and she jumped to her feet. He stood up, ignoring the oozing gash, and the Hinata stumbled backwards. "I am sure they are wondering where I am, I have to go help out, I haven't even checked my duties for today yet."

"What are you going to get punished or something?" The Uchiha heir let out a mocking laugh.

"I will see you later, Sasuke-san." She bowed to him before disappearing out of the forest, and Sasuke turned on his heels. He walked over to a tree, sitting down, and he kept his hand on the hilt of his sword. Sasuke figured that he might as well get some sleep while it was quiet, the Uchiha heir closed his eyes, but he couldn't stop thinking about how the Hyuuga looked at him with such a horrified face. He grimaced at the image.

_That face is so unbecoming of you, Hyuuga. _Sasuke thought as he drifted off to a light sleep.

XXXX

Hinata couldn't believe that she had forgotten to check on her duties for the day, it was so unlike her, and she promised herself to work extra hard to make up for the mistake. The Hyuuga heiress brushed the dirt off her jacket, however there were grass stains all on her pants. No matter how hard she tried to look clean, Hinata knew that everyone would know she had spared with the Sasuke. She was definitely tired from it, Hinata yearned to go home and change into fresh clothes. Climb into bed, and sleep for the whole day. However, Hinata had priorities, and they outweighed her needs. Her theory about the Uchiha heir was indeed correct, he didn't feel pain, judging by the way he carried out his daily activities unaware of his wounds. The sight of blood made her uneasy, and Sasuke's blood was no exception. The metallic smell of it infused with its rustic iron taste made the Hyuuga heiress nauseous. Whenever, Hinata caught sight of blood, she knew that death would be following afterwards, and it was one of the many factors as to why Hinata detested battles. She wanted to patch up the gash on his head, but Hinata was not going to press it any further. Anyways, when Sasuke informed her that he would break her hand, Hinata knew that he would do it. Furthermore, Hinata called Sasuke her sparring partner, but what she really meant was friend. In an odd way, the Hyuuga heiress thought of him as a friend. Yet, Hinata recognized that he probably wouldn't like the word so she played upon it.

Why did he not like for anyone to care for him?

The Hyuuga heiress made her way to Naruto's office, she ran inside causing the blond headed Hokage's eyes widened. The young jinchuuriki host looked her up and down.

"Hinata-chan, why do you look like that?" The blond headed Hokage frowned at her, and he stopped up, quickly.

"Oh, I was sparring." Hinata informed. "S-sorry about not checking in with y-you this morning." Naruto smiled at her, and he waved his hand.

"Aww man, too bad, I was stuck in here the whole time, I would have joined you, and who were you sparing with?" Naruto asked, curiously. Hinata pursed her lips, she didn't want to cause any more unwanted confrontations for the Uchiha heir, and she looked down at the ground. On the other hand, Hinata couldn't lie to her dear friend.

"Uh…." Hinata began. "I was sparing with Sasuke-san." Naruto's eye became wide as saucers that Hinata thought they were going to pop out, and his mouth dropped.

"You were sparring with... Sasuke?" The Hyuuga heiress nodded in confirmation, Naruto leaned back in his chair, and she could tell he was stunned. "Did he offer to spar with you?"

"No, I offered him."

"And he accepted?"

"Y-yes, Naruto-chan." The Hyuuga heiress saw the young jinchuuriki host was speechless, she smiled at him, and Hinata tried to ease the situation. "Where is everyone?"

Naruto blinked twice before he answered, and then he cleared his throat. "As you already know the phoenix festival is in a couple of days so everyone is checking the villagers from each country including our own. Sakura and Ino are checking with villagers here, Shino and Kiba are checking with villagers from the land of earth and lightning, but Shikamaru preferred to work alone. He is checking those from the land of water, and those coming in from the land of wind need to be checked."

"Okay."

"I am sure that none of them are suspicious considering how Gaara has probably checked them all out before they were allowed to come here to Konohagakure."

"Oh, is the Kazekage c-coming this year for the f-festival?" Hinata asked, curiously. Naruto nodded at her, eagerly, and she was happy to hear that. The Hyuuga heiress may not have been in love with Naruto anymore, but she hated to see him unhappy. There was a silence exchanged between them, and she headed out.

"I will check them out." Hinata wanted to leave before any more questions were going to be asked about Sasuke.

"Oh yeah, be careful, Hinata-chan."

"Don't worry, I-I will be." The Hyuuga heiress assured as she shut the door behind her.

XXXX

Naruto stared at the door, completely bewildered by the news that he had just been informed of. Sasuke had agreed to a spar with Hinata? Why did he accept? The blond headed Hokage had made numerous futile attempts to get the Uchiha heir to socialize with others, but Hinata was able to do that on one try. Naruto reflected back on his encounter with Sasuke in the kukoji forest, and how Sasuke said that he had no intention of seeing anyone. If this was true then, why would he want to interact with Hinata? The young jinchuuriki host pondered these thoughts as he picked up a pencil, and tapped it, lightly, on the table's wooden surface. After a few moments, Naruto felt a small smile tug at his lips, and he couldn't help, but let out a soft chuckle.

"Maybe, I am not the one who can get through to you, Sasuke." The blond headed Hokage whispered, silently to himself as he turned to look upon Konohagakure through the window.

XXXX

The villagers from the land of the wind ranged from young to old, and there was an excessive chatter among them. Their chatter included sighs of awe which no doubly came from the beautiful architecture of Konohagakure. Hinata stared at the villagers passing by her, so far all of them checked out just as Naruto had suspected, and she gave everyone a welcoming smile. An elderly young woman struggled through the crowd, she had huge baskets of food, and some of the villagers just passed by her. They didn't offer her a single help, the Hyuuga heiress caught sight of the older woman, and she walked into the crowd. The elderly woman had sweat forming on her brow, she seemed to be straining herself, immensely, and she went to drop the basket.

"Oh no!" she shouted. The Hyuuga heiress grabbed the basket before its contents spilled onto the ground only to be crushed underneath the feet of her fellow neighbors. Hinata saw a grateful express come across her face, and she reached out her hand. "Thank you... err..."

"Hinata." Hinata pointed to the other basket of food. "Please allow me to h-help you with all the baskets."

"Oh, I simply mustn't" the elderly woman looked at her, shocked. "You have been so kind already that I cannot burden you."

"I-It is my pleasure." The Hyuuga heiress insisted, and she placed her hand on the handle. "Please." The elderly woman looked at her, defeated, and she nodded. She handed Hinata the other basket of food, Hinata balanced the baskets on one arm, and she held out her hand. "Please allow me to maneuver you through the crowd."

"Oh my, I didn't realize shinobi from Konohagakure were so kind." The woman held onto Hinata's arm, and she gave her a small smile. "Isn't that a little heavy for you?"

_A little. _

"No, I am fine." The Hyuuga heiress wasn't going to tell the woman that the baskets of food caused a little trouble for her. After all, Hinata was not the one tell others when she was having trouble with anything.

"Oh, you are a strong woman." The woman admired. "Nothing less than I would expect from a Hyuuga."

"You are too kind." Hinata turned red at the compliment. "w-what are in t-these bags?"

"Several batches of pomegranates native to Sunagakure, I am bringing them to my son who is going to be making pies for the festival."

"Oh, really that sounds great."

"Will you be enjoying the festival?" The elderly woman asked.

"I-I will be on duty, why?"

"Well as penitence for helping me, I will tell my son to give you a free pie."

"that is so kind."

"Well..." The woman chuckled at the Hyuuga heiress. "Shinobi do get hungry don't they and I heard that you all don't get really good meals when you are on duty."

"Thank you." Hinata was speechless at the generosity of the elderly woman, she didn't expect to receive anything for helping her. The Hyuuga heiress felt that it was necessary to help anyone who was in need.

"And please do e-enjoy the festival."

"I will try to."

"And spend it with someone special." The elderly woman grinned at her causing the Hyuuga heiress's cheeks to grow a rose red. "Do you have someone special?" Hinata shook her head. "Well, surely you have someone special, it doesn't have to be a lover, and it could be a friend."

"Yes, but they are all on duty."

"You shinobi always work hard, you all need to take time to smell the roses, such a beautiful woman such as yourself should be able to enjoy the festival."

"I-I will." Hinata assured. "I promise, don't worry."

_A friend to spend time at the festival with huh? _The Hyuuga heiress lead the woman to the gate, the woman's family met her at the gate, and they thanked Hinata for the aid. The woman waved to Hinata as she left, and Hinata waved back, timidly. She leaned up against the gate, looking at the ground, and she began to ponder. Everyone had someone to spend time with during the festival, friends, family, etc., all except for one person.

_Sasuke Uchiha. _Hinata figured that the Uchiha heir would remain cooped up in the estate as the festival went on, and she bit her lip. He had never been to a festival, so why not invite him? He said that it was a nuisance so the Hyuuga heiress had an idea that he probably wouldn't accept the offer. However, she couldn't bear the thought of someone not inviting him, and even if he didn't accept it, at least someone offered. Hinata bit her lip, looking onto the crowds of citizens, and she had her mind set. She was going to propose the idea to Sasuke.

_The idea of attending the festival with her. _

XXXX

Sasuke made his way to his estate, he managed to get a decent sleep in the forest, but it didn't alleviate his foul mood. The Uchiha heir unlocked the dead bolt on his gate, he went to push open the gate, and he caught sight of the Hyuuga heiress wave at him. Sasuke stared at her, coolly, and she smiled at him.

"d-did you spend all your t-time in the forest?" Hinata asked, curiously.

"That is none of your damn business, Hyuuga, what do you want from me?"

"I have a question for you." She began, hesitantly. "B-but, I am not sure if you will like it?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed at her, and he crossed his arms.

"I probably won't, nonetheless, spit it out." The Uchiha heir commanded. "I hate waiting."

"would you like to go to the phoenix festival with me?" He saw the timid look on her face, her cheeks flush in embarrassment, and the Uchiha heir rolled his eyes.

"What makes you think that I would want to go to that shit?" Sasuke asked. "Didn't we have this discussion in the forest?"

"Yes, but I thought it would like to get out of the estate."

"And what makes you think that?"

"Because e-everyone will be enjoying t-themselves and you will be left out."

"Why do you care so much if I go?" Sasuke hissed.

"I just do." A silence fell between them, and Hinata bit her lip, nervously. She opened her mouth to break to the unnerving stillness, but Sasuke held up his hand.

"Shut up, Hyuuga, I'll go."

"what?" Hinata looked at him, stunned, and Sasuke growled at her.

"You heard me, don't make me fucking repeat myself." Hinata's cheeks turned rouge in elation, and she bowed to him.

"I promise you won't regret this."

"Oh, I doubt that very seriously." Sasuke groaned to himself as he stared upon a very ecstatic Hinata. He wasn't quite sure as to why he agreed to go to the festival. Perhaps, it was on a whim or maybe she was rubbing off on him with her kindness.

Either way, Sasuke had allowed her to persuade him to do something that he didn't really want to do, and that in itself was a rare occurrence.

**Please review the story, I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you all enjoyed it as there will be more to come- FireGladiator. **


	7. The Phoneix Festival

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, or any aspect of it. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

The Beauty of Power

Chapter 7

The smells of different arrays of foods filled the air, playing on the olfactory senses of anyone who passed by them. The laughter of children mixed in with the playful rhythmic mood of music touched each corner of Konohagakure. It was a joyous event for everyone, except one. Sasuke stood at the front door of his estate, he had his arms crossed, and he cursed underneath his breath. The Uchiha heir had on a black kimono with a pair of sandals. To his unfortunate displeasure, he had to buy a new men's kimono instead of wearing his usual clothes. His everyday attire had dirt, and blood stains all over it, and it needed to be washed. The only thing he kept from his every day wear was the katana hilted on his hip. There was nowhere Sasuke would go without it. Sasuke considered not to show up to the damn festival, but he was not the one to go back on his word. If anything, Sasuke was not looking forward to the festival at all, but there was no point in bitching about it. What was done was done.

_Fuck my life. _

A soft knock came at the gate, the Uchiha heir rolled his eyes, and he walked up to the gate. Sasuke was met with a smiling Hinata, and he eyed her.

"Let's get this over with," The Uchiha heir growled, lowly.

"I really appreciate y-you willing to go with me."

"Whatever." Sasuke slammed the gate behind him, and Hinata walked beside him as they made their way towards the festival. There was a silence exchanged between the two heirs, the sound of their footsteps hitting the asphalt of the road was the only noise, and Sasuke kept his eyes forward.

"Um...Sasuke-san." Hinata began.

"What?" Sasuke didn't face her as she spoke, he was watching the image of the festival, getting closer and closer only to reveal the plethora of inhabitants.

"I-I am really glad you decided to come."

"Don't bullshit me with your sentimental words." Sasuke spat, icily.

"I really do mean it."' Hinata said, defensively.

"Will you be glad that I came if I killed everyone right now in this festival?" Sasuke smirked at Hinata, and Hinata looked at him, horrified.

"y-you wouldn't do that." Hinata muttered.

"Okay." Sasuke said with his voice skeptical. "But if anyone dies at this festival then it will be all your fault even if it results in the death of your good friends." Hinata nodded at him, he saw her make a mental note, and his eyes narrowed.

Did she not believe him?

Normally, when he made threats people took them as warnings, but she didn't seem all too convinced.

What the fuck was wrong with her? He was a killer, and she needed to understand that fact.

"I will also be on d-duty as w-well, Sasuke-san."

"Doing what?"

"Just making sure that everything goes well."

"Hmph!" Sasuke grunted. "what is someone going to do?" in case you haven't noticed, nothing happens anymore, no attacks on villages or anything that happened when we were younger."

"So what would you like to do first?"

"I don't know, you fucking invited me here, you make the damn decisions."

"I d-don't want to intrude."

"Just make a decision already." Sasuke exasperated. "Or I am going back home." He looked at her, threateningly, and she pursed her lips.

"I would like to go see a musical performance first if that is okay."

"I really don't care." The Uchiha heir and Hyuuga heiress came up to the entrance of the festival. The men were dressed in light colored kimonos while the women were dressed in their finest yukatas with brightly colored parasols. Children ran through the streets, holding sparklers in their hands, and there was a spectators' box where the kages sat in. The spectators' box overlooked the festival, Sasuke looked at it, intently, and he saw Naruto sitting beside Gaara. The other remaining three kages sat beside them. The Uchiha heir pressed his lips together, cringing, and he looked at the sight, coldly.

_You think you're so fucking high and mighty don't you, Naruto?_

"D-do you like shamisen music?" Hinata asked, curiously. "I think it is the f-first performance today."

"Why does it matter?"

"I want you to like it as well." Hinata smiled at him, warmly. "that is important."

"Whatever."

"Come on, I think the performance is this way." It was easy to keep up with her, since he could distinctively pick her out of the crowds of villagers by her hair color. However, he growled as residents bumped into him, and he fought the urge to just cut them out of his way. Sasuke saw that Hinata got a considerable distance from him, and he figured that he would find her either way. He was not going to bust his ass to try to keep up with her. The Uchiha heir came up to a tent where a group of three men and women sat on a matt. There were ornaments hanging from the tent, and the women had on geisha like makeup. A mass was forming around the tent, Sasuke saw the Hyuuga heiress standing front of the mass, but he chose to remain in the back. He saw her scan the crowd until her eyes rested on him, she beckoned him to join her at the front of the crowd, but Sasuke just stared at her. After a few more attempts and realizing that he would not come. The Uchiha heir watched Hinata made her way through the crowd to where he was, and he growled.

_You idiot, you lost your place. _

"I am sorry, Sasuke-san, I lost you." Hinata apologized.

"Stop it." Sasuke commanded, curtly. "You're annoying me right now."

"what?"

"You so apologetic, it is annoying." Sasuke hissed.

"I-" The Uchiha heir cut her off.

"Don't say you're fucking sorry, just turn around and watch the damn show." Hinata gave him a soft complaint smile, she turned around, and the music started to play. The crowd sighed in awe, the Uchiha found himself bored, and he looked at the ground. However, Sasuke took notice of Hinata standing on her toes as she tried to look over the crowd, but she was too short. She moved one way, but another person moved in front of her. With a sigh, Hinata fell back on her feet, and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Just push your way through them, Hinata."

"that is rude, I mustn't." Sasuke groaned to himself, he grabbed her sleeve, and he dragged her through the crowd. As he drug her through the mass, she fumbled in a polite protest, but Sasuke ignored it. He pushed the villagers out of his way, some of them cursed at him, and he looked at them, sinisterly. When they met his eyes, the color drained from their face.

_That is what I thought. _

Sasuke pushed her to the front, the Hyuuga heiress stumbled forward, and she turned red in embarrassment. The musicians looked at them, shocked with their fingers plucking the strings, mindlessly.

XXXX

Hinata didn't look at the musicians as they stared at her, she directed her gaze to focus on the matt that they were sitting on. She couldn't believe that the Uchiha had been so rude passing through these people. The Hyuuga heiress wanted to crawl into a shell, however she had to admit that it was a nice view. The music settled her nerves however, she looked out the corner of her eye at the Uchiha heir. Sasuke had an unfathomable expression on his face. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but she would have to get him to like something.

Did he like the music?

Did it bore him?

These questions struck a curiosity in the Hyuuga, but she was also taken aback by Sasuke. He had shown her a faint ray of kindness.

Did he really care that she saw the musicians playing?

She felt a smile tug at her lips, and Hinata figured that she would have to repay him for it. The Hyuuga heiress looked at the Uchiha heir out the corner of her eye, he looked handsome in his black kimono, and she felt her cheeks turn red at the thought. Despite the enjoyment of the music, Hinata scanned the mass of inhabitants. They were all happy, and none of them seemed suspicious. The Hyuuga heiress prayed that it would remain that way all day. Halfway into the musical performance, Hinata walked over to Sasuke, and she smiled at him.

"do you like it?" Hinata asked, inquisitively.

"It's fine."

"we can go if you are bored."

"I didn't drag your ass to the front for you to not stay here for the full preformance." Sasuke growled. He glared at her, and the Hyuuga heiress nodded at him. The preformance lasted for an hour, and the crowd began to break up.

"let's go see the k-kiosks if that is okay."

"Hn." Sasuke shrugged at her, he turned on his heels, and Hinata followed him into the streets of venders. The Hyuuga heiress looked at all the different kiosks which ranged from selling toys for children to fine silk kimonos. She looked, excitedly at everything, and Hinata caught sight of the elderly woman whom she helped at Konohagakure's gates. Hinata walked up to the booth, and the old woman caught sight of her.

"Oh, Miss Hinata, how are you today?" She asked with a grin.

"I am fine, thank you."

"Did you find someone to spend the festival with?" The elderly woman asked, curiously.

"Oh, yes, I did."

"Would you like to try a slice of our pies?" she asked, curiously. "I know I promised you one before I left the other day."

"No, thank you." The Hyuuga heiress declined, politely. "I just w-wanted to come visit y-you."

"You are too kind, come back if you want some." With a nod, Hinata moved onto the next booth with the Uchiha heir, and she heard him scoff.

"Geez, you are too much for me, Hyuuga."

"what?"

"Being kind to old ladies and shit, let me guess you saved her right?"

"No, I helped her."

"Doing what?"

"She dropped her stuff, and I-I helped carry it for her."

"That's even worse." The Uchiha heir exasperated. Hinata opened her mouth to say something, but she her train of thought was cut off by a cheerful voice.

"Hinata!" Ino shouted. The Hyuuga heiress turned around to see Ino, Sakura, and Kiba along with Akamaru running towards her. She waved at them, but she bit her lip. The closer they got towards them, the Hyuuga heiress watched their mouths drop as they began to recognize who was with her. Kiba was the first one by Hinata's side.

"' what is he doing here?" Kiba asked, angrily. Hinata looked at Ino who stared at Sasuke with a shocked face as her cheeks grew rosy red in bashfulness.

"I thought you understood the nature of our conversation, the other day." Sakura crossed her arms, keeping her eyes on Sasuke, and Hinata noticed that Sasuke remained quiet.

"P-please everyone, I invited him." Hinata walked over in front of Sasuke, and she felt his stare bore into her back.

"Hee!" They all shouted in unison. Kiba frowned at her.

"Why, he doesn't care if he comes here or not."

"As that may be, everyone is welcomed to the festival." Hinata explained, kindly. "And Sasuke-san is no exception." Ino cleared her throat.

"Sasuke, are you taking advantage of her?" Ino asked, firmly. Hinata looked at Sasuke out the corner of her eye, and the Uchiha heir crossed his arms.

XXXX

He didn't feel like answer the Yamanaka's question, nor did he want to explain the reason for why he was here to anyone. Furthermore, the Hyuuga heiress was defending him to her so called friends, and he would have gladly allowed her to keep talking. But, he was not someone that needed to be saved by anyone, and the Uchiha heir wanted to make that clear.

"It doesn't matter if I answer it or not." Sasuke stated, coldly.

"What the fuck did you say?" Kiba asked, infuriated. Akamaru stood beside Kiba with his teeth bared at Sasuke, but it didn't faze the Uchiha heir.

"You all wouldn't know if I was taking advantage of someone even if it bit you in the ass." Sasuke sneered. "Including you, Sakura." Sakura scowled at him, and she balled up her fists.

"You smug bastard." Kiba reached passed Sasuke, grabbing the collar of his kimono, and the Uchiha heir activated his sharingan.

_I'll teach you not to touch me. _

"Kiba!" Ino shouted, dismayed. "Let go of him."

"I will do no such thing, I am going to teach this bastard a lesson!" The Uchiha heir began to unsheathe his katana until he felt someone knock it back into the holder, and a pale hand pushed Kiba away from him, abruptly.

"Stop it now, both of you, this is a place of celebration, there is no need for this conflict." Sasuke glared at Hinata whose eyes darted between him and the Inuzuka.

_Did she just….? _

"Hinata is right." Sakura crossed her arms, and she walked up to Kiba, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I am truly sorry, Hinata, did you find anything out of the ordinary?" The Uchiha heir could tell that Sakura didn't like him being here with Hinata as much as everyone else did, but she wasn't going to mention it.

_So an old dog can learn new tricks. _

"No, everything seems f-fine." Hinata said with a smile. "But, I-I will keep a look out, Sakura-chan."

"I know you will." The Uchiha heir saw Kiba motion with his hands that he was watching him, and Kiba looked at Hinata.

"Sorry, Hinata-chan."

"It is fine." And with that, the three shinobi were gone.

"Tch, what fucking nuisances."

XXXX

Hinata tried to control her frantic heartbeat, but she found herself shaken up for what could have occurred between Sasuke and Kiba. Furthermore, the Hyuuga heiress knew it was a bold move to intercept the confrontation between the two young men like that, but she could see the situation getting out of control very fast. She looked to see her hands were trembling in fear, Hinata closed her eyes short, and she took a deep breath through her teeth.

"Hyuuga." She opened her eyes up to see Sasuke in front of her, and Hinata turned red in embarrassment. His eyes were back to their normal color.

"Y-yes." Hinata was expecting him to say something about her interceding in his fight.

"Is there any more places that you want to look at?" The Hyuuga heiress looked at him, baffled and she nodded at him.

"There is." With a nod, Sasuke turned around, and he began to walk in the direction of the other booths. Hinata followed after him, and she thanked him inside of her head for not confronting her about it.

But why didn't he say something?

This was a question that Hinata figured she wouldn't get a straight answer for, and the Hyuuga heiress decided not to dwell on it. Not wanting it to spoil her day, she made herself enjoy the rest of the sights that the festival had to offer.

-Later on that same day-

The sun started to set, the sky turned a vibrant display of pastel colors, and the multitude of residents started to die down. The Hyuuga heiress started to become a bit hungry, and she was sure that Sasuke was hungry. She walked up to a vender who was selling freshly made red bean paste buns, and she bought a small bento box filled with them.

"Are you tired of walking, Sasuke-san?" The Uchiha heir didn't answer her.

"w-would mind if we sit down, I bought us food." With a shrug, Sasuke followed her through to find a seating area. Hinata found a bench underneath a willow tree, and she opened up the bento box once they sat down. "I-I hope you like red bean paste buns." She took a bun out of the box, and held it to her lips. "I figured that you must be hungry by now."

XXXX

Sasuke watched the Hyuuga heiress take a bite of a red bean paste bun. The box of buns sat in between them, and the Uchiha heir couldn't believe that she had bought one of his favorite foods. He was surprised to find that the Hyuuga heiress, and he had some form of commonality. The Uchiha heir sighed and he reached into the box, grabbing one. The Hyuuga heiress looked at him, shocked as he took a bite, and he looked at her, coolly.

"What are you looking at?" He was hungry after all.

"you like these?"

"Yes, I wouldn't be eating it if I didn't like it." Hinata beamed in delight, and she held the box out to him.

"Please take as many as you want, I-" Sasuke cut her off.

"It is fine what you have here, I don't fill up on food anyways."

"I didn't know y-you liked these." Hinata said, staring at her food. "w-what else do you like?"

"You're pushing it, Hyuuga." Sasuke warned. "Don't you think that is enough information for today, hell, most people don't even know what foods I like."

"Okay." He saw a flicker of disappointment come across her face.

Why did she want to know about him? He was nobody to everyone else, why wasn't he nobody in her eyes?

Sasuke frowned. "Don't tell anyone or I will make sure that you beat you until you pass out next time we spar." The Uchiha heir commanded. Those words were not merely a statement, but they were a promise.

"I promise that I won't tell." The Uchiha heir had an idea that she wouldn't tell, hell, she kept it from her friends that she invited him to the festival. However, he wanted to be sure that she didn't reveal it to anyone. People were always trying to wonder what the qualities were of the Uchiha heir other than the obvious ones, and these people included the shinobi that she was friends with. The Hyuuga heiress should consider herself to be lucky to be able to learn one quality about him, but she was also extremely perceptive. Sasuke didn't have to say much with her, she could figure a lot out of his unspoken words, and he had to admit that he liked that.

"this is kind of peaceful isn't it, Sasuke-san?"

"That's a fucking stupid thing to say, Hyuuga." The Uchiha heir exasperated.

"Maybe." Hinata leaned back, closing her eyes, and Sasuke stared at her.

How could she relax in the midst of all this chaos that the festival brought on? It was not too long afterwards that Sasuke saw her fade into a light sleep.

_I can't believe her. _

The Uchiha heir felt something hit his shoulder, he knew it was the Hyuuga heiress, and he grimaced. He wanted to shove her off him, and ring her slender neck for sleeping on him. Sasuke expected his anger flare when he looked at her, however it didn't happen. Instead, he found himself gazing upon her, her hair fell in front of her face, and the Uchiha heir got a whiff of her scent. She smelled like fresh lilac and jasmine, it was intoxicating, and Sasuke's lips curved into a smirk. Did she think that it was permissible to do such a thing?

"And you didn't even ask if you could sleep on me." Sasuke sighed, heavily. "I guess you can... for now. The Uchiha heir rested his chin against his hand, she was the first woman that he allowed to do this, and to be honest, it felt kind of nice.

What was going on with him? First, he allowed her to stop the possibility of a fight with the Inuzuka and now this.

He was growing soft after all.

**Please review the story, I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you all enjoyed it as there will be more to come- FireGladiator.**


	8. A new start

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, or any aspect of it. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

The Beauty of Power

Chapter 8

The Uchiha heir began to notice a slow and small change occurring within himself, and he felt the need to confront it. Sasuke was beginning to grow soft on her. He suspected that it was the primary reason for why he had even agreed to go to the festival in the first place. As silly as it may sound, he would have remained completely obvious to such things, if it were not for the other day. He had learned from a young age to close himself from any kind of emotion, emotions were weak, and it was what got you killed in battles. Emotions drove shinobi to commit imprudent actions. So, Sasuke stripped himself off them when he left Konohagakure, failing to recognize any other emotions except for apathy and aloofness. Throughout the years, the other emotions began to dwindle, and the last of them were used on Itachi Uchiha after his death.

But why her? Why was she able to revive them?

Sasuke was around women before, but they didn't bring about such actions. Shit, when he looked at Sakura or Karin, he felt nothing, if they were to bleed out in front of him, entrails spilling out of their bodies, he wouldn't feel any obligation to help them. But, when he gazed upon the face of the sleeping Hyuuga. The Uchiha heir felt a sort of peace and contentedness. It was the first time that he had felt the feeling of contentedness in his lifetime. When he was a young shinobi, he was not satisfied with his life, and much to others belief, he was not content with his life after he had killed Itachi. Maybe, it was because she quenched his thirst for a fight that he felt these two feelings. Either way, Sasuke had let his guard down, and now he was ruined. Furthermore, he couldn't get the smell of her perfumed skin out of his head. The Uchiha heir could swear that her scent lingered on him for days, and it almost drove him to the point of throwing away the black kimono.

What was going on with him?

It had been the first time that he had allowed a woman to be within so many feet of him. Often times, when a woman invaded the parameters of his space, it was when they were throwing themselves at him, begging that Sasuke would take them. The Uchiha heir cursed underneath his breath, he had been so aversive to touch, and here he was allowing her to touch him. Not necessarily, skin to skin contact, but harmless bodily contact.

Why did he let her? Maybe it was because she was so gentle.

Oh how far he has fallen!

Sasuke considered to stay away from Hinata for a couple of days, but he knew that wouldn't work out very well. It would defeat the purpose for why he came to this forsaken place.

The Uchiha heir stood in the forest, its quietness was interrupted by the chirping of birds, and he stood in a casual stance. After a few moments, Sasuke's eyes narrowed in agitation, and he looked up at the sun.

She was late.

In fact, judging by the way, he sun was positioned in the sky, he had been waiting on her for an hour, and frankly, he was getting impatient. Sasuke took a deep breath through gritted teeth, he balled up his fists, and turned around. The Uchiha heir was going to find Hinata, and make sure she regretted wasting his time like this. As if right on cue, Sasuke saw the Hyuuga heiress run out to where he was, her face was frantic, and he crossed his arms.

"You're late."

"I-I am sorry, Sasuke-san." Hinata looked at him, apologetically, and she gave him a shy smile. "B-but I am not able to t-train with y-you today."

"What?" Sasuke asked.

" I was just now able to get out of our hectic day today, we have to g-go deliver some goods to a starving village."

"You couldn't have told me sooner than this?" The Uchiha heir looked at her, displeased.

" I-I am so sorry, I h-have been out earlier than our sparing time gathering up some goods." The Hyuuga heiress explained, breathlessly. "This was the o-only time that I could get out."

"I see… and what village is it?"

"A small unaffiliated village, I-I am not sure of the name."

"And you thought it was okay that you put aside our daily spar for that?" Sasuke asked as he approached her, keeping intense eyes on the soft contours of her face, and Hinata looked at him, speechless.

"what if they starve?"

"Hmm… who care?" The Uchiha heir stated, apathetically.

" I care if they do." The Hyuuga heiress muttered as she directed her gaze to the ground, and the Uchiha heir stopped to where he was no more than a few feet in front of her.

"Of course you do." Sasuke scoffed at her. "How long are you going to be gone for?"

"A c-couple of days."

_And what pretell do you think I am going to do in your absence?_

"You didn't say anything about this before." Sasuke hissed.

"I just learned about this morning, and I-I will be drafted out this afternoon, it is an emergency situation." Hinata explained. "They have been in f-famine for days."

"You have wasted my time telling me this news, I would have been able to figure out where you were, and do you honestly think I am so completely oblivious to my surroundings and to those who are in it."

"No, I didn't want you to think I left you."

"Why does that matter, I am nobody."

"No you a-are not." Hinata said, quickly. The Uchiha heir saw her meet his eyes for a brief second when she said this, and he rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." Sasuke pushed past Hinata, she followed him with her eyes, and he stopped to where they were side by side. There was a long pause exchanged between them. "I don't know what to do with you." He saw a perplexed look come across Hinata's face, but he didn't wait for her to ask what he meant by the words. No, he left Hinata standing right in that forest before he revealed anything else.

XXXX

Hinata didn't mean to leave the Uchiha heir waiting for her so long, she had been summoned by Naruto at 6: 00 am this morning, and it had been non-stop ever since then. Late last night, Naruto had gotten a scroll tied to dove's leg that was a plea for assistance. According to the scroll, this unaffiliated village had recently experienced a serious of droughts that have left the lands infertile, and this has led to the death of several inhabitants including children. Furthermore, the villagers who had been surviving were living off storage food. Hinata had been packing carriages of food since this morning, and she couldn't just abandon the tasks that she was assigned to complete. The foods ranged from fresh fruits to packages of meat. The Hyuuga heiress wondered what the Uchiha heir would do while she was gone.

Would he remain a hermit in the estate or would he still come to the forest here to train?

Hinata stared down the path that the Uchiha heir took to disappear out of the forest, and she bit her lip.

What did he mean by what he was going to do with her?

She wanted to ask him the question, but he had left before she could utter the words. Hinata sighed to herself as she made her way back to where they were stocking the carriages, and she grabbed a bag of grain. The Hyuuga heiress threw it onto the carriage, it started to weigh down, and Ino walked up to her.

" I hope we can get there soon." Ino crossed her arms. " I hate sleeping out into the open."

" We have a map, so I-I don't think it will be too long." Hinata smiled at her, warmly.

"we haven't even gotten there yet and she is already complaining." Shikamaru grumbled. He grunted as he tied down the food on the carriage, and Ino looked at him, sourly.

" I am not." Hinata chuckled at the two fighting, she walked up to Sakura who had a billboard in her hands, and Sakura smiled at her.

" I think that is everything." Sakura said as she checked off a box on the list, and she handed it to a young male shinobi. " I hope we get there soon, I don't want any more deaths because of malnutrition."

" I think Kiba-san h-has the map."

"Yeah, I do." Kiba said as he came around the carriage, Akamaru trailed behind him, and he held up the map. Hinata looked at the blueprints of the lands, and she looked at Ino.

" I-I am sorry, Ino-san, I misspoke, it looks like we w-will be traveling for a couple of days." Ino groaned in dread, and Hinata walked up to a horse. She made sure that the horse was secured, tightly to the carriage, and they all got ready to take off.

"We will have to take turns leading the horses." Shikamaru stated. "There is only enough space for one person in the carriage."

"I will t-take the first lead." Hinata volunteered.

"And the rest of us will be guarding the carriage in case there are any attacks on it." Sakura informed.

"If any of us get tired, we will take turns sleeping the carriage." Kiba crossed his arms, and Hinata nodded in agreement.

"There will be little to no breaks though." Shikamaru explained. "Only at night when it gets too dark will we stop."

"Okay, agreed." Ino said, quickly.

"I also have the food for all of us." Kiba held out several bags of bread, and Hinata grabbed the horse's rein, gently.

"We will h-have to find an r-river for w-water."

"Right." The Hyuuga heiress tugged on the rein, the horse started to follow her as the gates opened up, and she ventured out into the outside world.

XXXX

The Uchiha heir went back to his estate, he grabbed his cloak, and Sasuke pulled the hood over his head. He was not going to stay here in Konohagakure if the Hyuuga heiress was not here, after all, she was the sole purpose for why he resided in this place. It was good in a strange way that she was leaving here. He needed a break from his former village, from everyone, and Sasuke didn't care if Hinata returned sooner than he did. He would come back when he felt like it. The Uchiha heir walked out of his estate, he ran through the streets, and he slipped out of the gates.

"Hey!" The two guards shouted. "You!" The Uchiha heir activated his sharingan, looking at them, sharply, and he watched their eyes roll into the back of their heads. The two guards collapsed on the ground, and Sasuke smirked to himself.

_So easy. _

The Uchiha heir ran as fast as he could from the village until it became a dot, and he stopped. He figured that he would stay at one village, and move onto the next one tomorrow. It was what he always did. The next unaffiliated village closest to where he was, was about a couple of hours away, and the Uchiha heir made his way in the direction of the village.

-Several hours later-

As suspected, Sasuke arrived at the village just as the evening started to fall. There were no gates for the village, it was open for any attacks, and anyone to wander inside of it. The proportionality of villagers in this village paled in comparison to Konohagakure. They didn't seem to be paying much attention to the Uchiha heir, continuing on with their daily tasks, and Sasuke walked into a hotel. A small young woman stood at the counter, and she looked at Sasuke, shocked.

"I'd like a room for the night." Sasuke pulled down his hood, reaching into his pocket, and he laid the money on the counter. The woman stared at him, blinking twice, and the Uchiha heir pressed his lips together. "Do I have to repeat myself?"

"Oh!" the young woman took the money off the counter, counting it, and her face flushed red in embarrassment. "And when will you be leaving?"

"First thing in the morning." There was no way he was going to be charged for a new day, most hotels that he had been in charged if you stayed to a certain time, and Sasuke suspected that this hotel was no different from the others.

"Okay, that is fine, and also our standard rooms all have king sized beds in them and room service is offered."

"Room service is extra charge right?"

"Yes."

"Is that enough?" Sasuke exasperated.

"Oh yes." The woman handed him the key, and he snatched it from her. "Your room number is 150, and your dinner will be up very soon."

"Fine."

" oh, please wait, I also forgot to tell you our menu for tonight."

" just get me whatever you have ready." The Uchiha heir walked down the hallway, he kept his eyes forward, and the hotel was quiet. Sasuke opened the door to his room, there was a king sized bed, and it had two gray pillows with matching gray covers. The carpet was tan, there was a lamp sitting on top of a cherry wooden table, and Sasuke slammed the door shut. He took off his cloak, and the Uchiha heir waited for his dinner. No more than thirty minutes later, a knock came at the door, and the Uchiha heir opened it up. The woman stood with a sliver tray that had a cup of green tea and a plate of onigiri.

" I hope this will do."

" It is fine." Sasuke took the tray, and he turned to close the door.

"Just leave the tray outside the door here and I will get it." The Uchiha heir gave her a small nod before he closed the door, and he sat down on a small table in the room. Sasuke's stomach growled at the sight of the food, he had become spoiled in Konohagakure with getting meals every day, and the Uchiha heir ate the food, silently. Once he was finished, Sasuke placed the tray out the door, walking over to the bed, and he collapsed on it. The Uchiha heir closed his eyes, the bed was not as comfortable as the one at the estate, but Sasuke was not the one to complain. Either way, it was a bed, and whether comfortable or not, it served the same purpose. The Uchiha heir pulled out the blade of his sword, tightening his grip on it, just in case anyone tried to sneak into his room, and he drifted off to sleep.

- Several days later-

Sasuke began to wonder if the Hyuuga heiress was enjoying her time, traveling with those idiots. Instantly, the Uchiha heir frowned to himself and wished that he could rid that thought out of his mind.

What was he thinking?

Did Sasuke ever consider anyone else's feelings before? Hell no, he didn't.

Sasuke headed for the other village that was further from this previous one, however it was only about an hour away, and once again, the Uchiha heir would settle there. So far there had been three different villages that Sasuke had been to excluding the first village. Sasuke noticed something unusual as he approached the other village, the vegetation around it was dead, and he activated his sharingan. The Uchiha heir hands rested on his katana, there was once where he saw signs similar to this, and the whole village had been massacred. Sasuke approached the village, there was a field of recent graves, and fields of crops that looked like they had been burned up. The Uchiha heir stopped in his tracks, and he stared at the scene. This was the village that the Hyuuga heiress was bringing food to.

How ironic!

Sasuke saw a carriage enter the village, he could see sakura was leading the carriage due to her unusual hair color, and he crossed his arms. The Uchiha heir considered turning back around and head back in the other direction. However, he had come too far to settle for something else, and Sasuke caught sight of Hinata walking alongside the carriage. He was curious to see how well this little benevolent act would go with the villagers. With a smirk, Sasuke headed down to see the event.

XXXX

Hinata wished that they could have been there sooner to prevent the deaths of loved ones, she promised herself to go to the local shrine, and pray for the dead. The villagers perked up at the sight of them, they came out of their homes, and Hinata could tell that some of the men, women, and children had frail physiques.

"We have come from Konohagakure to give out food to those who need it." Sakura stated. An elderly man pushed through the gathering crowd, and he was adorned in fabrics that had all kinds of ornaments hanging from it.

" I was beginning to wonder when you all would come." He began. "I am the village head, Gakukoru." Hinata bowed in reverence, and she beckoned to the carriage.

"We have brought foods of all kind." There was a chatter among all the villagers, and she noticed that they started to become uneasy.

"Now, we will distribute it all evenly." Shikamaru began as he untied the food, revealing the bags of grains, rice, and vegetables. As soon as the villagers caught sight of it, they rushed up to the carriage all at once, and Kiba along with Ino tried to control the influx of inhabitants.

"Please c-calm down!" shouted Gakukoru. The inhabitants seemed to be ignoring his commands, Hinata held out her hand, and she looked at everyone, concerned.

"T-there is enough for everyone, please relax."

"Out of my way." A young man shoved `the Hyuuga heiress to the side, and she stumbled backwards. This was getting out of control fast.

XXXX

Sasuke watched the scene from on top of the building, he smirked at the sight, and his eyes focused on Hinata. He watched her tried to effortlessly calm down the crowds. Sasuke wanted to see her use violence against these weaklings, to use her byakugan, and throw them off her. However, Sasuke knew that it wasn't going to happen, and he pressed his lips together as he noticed that the villagers started to push her around. The Uchiha heir watched her start to be thrown among them, and that irked him.

The Uchiha heir saw that sakura, and the other shinobi were preoccupied with their own problems. He saw her fall down to the ground, Sasuke scowled and he jumped off the building. He walked up to the ruckus, and he unsheathed his katana. He walked up to a man who was trying to push his way through the mass, and the Uchiha heir grabbed his shirt. Sasuke threw him backwards, and the man's eyes widened as he stared into his eyes. He let out a scream, catching the attention of everyone, and the Uchiha heir saw the crowd turned to face him. Instantly, his presence became well known, he pointed his sword towards the mass, and looked at them, coldly.

"Move out of my damn way." The Uchiha heir commanded. The crowd moved from him, Sasuke walked up to see Hinata was on the ground, and she looked at him, shocked.

"Sasuke-san, you're h-here?" Hinata asked. Without a word, the Uchiha heir did something that he had never done before, not even to his own teammates. Sasuke extended his hand to Hinata.

**Please review the story, I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you all enjoyed it as there will be more to come- FireGladiator.**


	9. Bold crossings

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, or any aspect of it. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

The Beauty of Power

Chapter 9

Sasuke did not grab Hinata's hand when she reached for his, instead he grabbed her wrist, and pulled her to her feet.

"Thank you, Sasuke-san." Hinata smiled at him, warmly. "B-but, how did yo-" The Uchiha heir cut her off.

"How dare you allow yourself to be pushed to the ground?" Sasuke hissed. "What kind of Hyuuga are you?" The Hyuuga heiress looked at him, stunned, but the Uchiha heir continued on.

"You should make these leeches know who is in power." The Uchiha heir averted his gaze from the Hyuuga heiress to a man who was holding a bag of rice, and he trembled at the sight of Sasuke. He gazed upon the Uchiha heir, dismayed, Sasuke walked up to the man, and the man's face lost color.

"You there, tell me how did you get all the way over there?" The voice of the Uchiha heir was dark, and cold.

"I-I-" The man began to stammer, Sasuke gave him a displeased look, and he flickered his katana towards his throat. Instantly, the man dropped to his knees, and he held up his hands in a pleading manner. "P-please, d-don't k-kill me."

"You didn't answer my question." Sasuke exasperated. "Now stop evading it."

"I-I w-was the f-first one i-in front of the c-crowd and... and…" His voice trailed off.

"And you would have to push past her to get over here." Sasuke beckoned to Hinata, a terrified look was on her face, and she stared between the two men. "Am I correct?"

"Y-yes, you are." The man said, reluctantly. "b-but, I am so sorry."

"Hmph." The Uchiha heir grunted. "Apologies are empty." At that moment, Sasuke's leg was grabbed by Akamaru, and Kiba, Ino, and Shikamaru appeared next to him with their kunais pointed at his throat. Sakura appeared in front of the man with her arms outstretched on both sides, defending the civilian.

"Sasuke, stop!" Sakura shouted. The Uchiha's red eyes bore into her green ones, and he smirked at her.

"Or what?" Sasuke taunted.

"Or we will have to attack you and once again you will become our enemy." The pink haired kunoichi threatened. There was an unnerving silence exchanged between everyone, and Hinata rested her hand on the hilt of his katana.

"Hinata, stay back!" Kiba warned.

"Sasuke-san, p-please put your k-katana down." Hinata asked, gently. Sasuke's eyes narrowed at her, and he looked at her hand.

Who did she think she was? He could easily strike her down where she stood.

"Please." Hinata repeated.

"Hmph." The Uchiha heir withdrew his katana, there was a sigh of relief from the shinobi, but he caught sight of the baffled look on their faces.

He had listened to someone for once in his life. Normally, when people spoke to Sasuke, it was all just mindless chit-chat that he let float on by without giving it a second thought. However, when Hinata spoke to him, he found himself quite the opposite with her. He was attentive to everything that she said

She was definitely ruining him.

"You are a fool." Sasuke grimaced. He turned on his heels, walking towards the crowd, and the civilians parted away from him. The Uchiha heir leaned up against a building, and his face had an unfathomable expression on it.

XXXX

Hinata tried to ignore the stares that she was getting from her teammates, and she bit her lip. She walked over to the trembling young man, holding out her hand, and he watched her.

"I am so sorry to have him f-frighten you." Hinata apologized. "Please help yourself to the f-food we have brought." The young man nodded at her, taking her hand and he got up.

"Thank you, everyone from saving me from that demon."

"It is no problem, now, let's continue giving out the food." Ino proposed.

"Right." Sakura agreed.

"Okay!" Kiba shouted. "We want all the men in one line, women in another, and children in another line." The presence of the Uchiha heir was a perfect way to make the crowd submit, the mass began to disperse themselves into the three lines, and Hinata started to hand out the food.

"So, Hinata." Kiba began. "How did you do it?"

"Do what?" Hinata asked, curiously. She knew what the question was regarding to, and Hinata really didn't know how to answer it.

Why did Sasuke listen to her? Why did he help her when she was pushed to the ground?

The Hyuuga heiress knew that if it were not for them protecting the villager, he would have struck him down.

Did it really bother him that she was being treated that way?

She knew that the inhabitants didn't mean to act so aggressively, who knows how long it had been since they had caught sight of any kind of food. On the other hand, Hinata recognized that didn't matter the reason to the Uchiha heir, and the only way that he saw it was that she was being pushed around.

So if it did bother him, had she pierced that cold exterior of his? The truth was that she had.

There were several instances where this truth had revealed itself. Reflecting back on the festival, Sasuke had dragged her to the front of the spectators so that she could get a better view of the shamisen players. She had learned what his favorite food was, and she had fell asleep on him. If this was not enough evidence of it, then Hinata didn't know what would be.

"Do what?"

"Get the Uchiha to lower his katana." Kiba stated. "I heard that was something that even Naruto couldn't even do."

"I don't know, but I-I was just didn't want anyone to get hurt."

"Yeah, especially in front of all these people, it is something that children should not see." Kiba sighed. "Thank you, we all owe you one."

"Oh no, d-don't think that." The Hyuuga heiress shook her head, and she chuckled at him, softly. "You are my f-friends, we are supposed to help each other."

"Tell me." Kiba began as his face turned serious. "Do you consider Sasuke to be your friend?"

"what?" Hinata asked, shocked.

"Was that why you stepped in to stop all of us?" Kiba pressed on further. Hinata nodded at him, hanging out bag of vegetables to a little girl, and Kiba sighed. "I know you do."

"You do?"

"I know you." Kiba grinned at her.

"Are you okay, Hinata?" Ino asked, curiously. "I saw that you got pushed down."

"I am fine." The Hyuuga heiress lied. The truth was that she had a sharp pain in her shoulder from where she hit the ground, and Hinata figured that a bruise would probably be there. Nonetheless, Hinata admitted that she was elated when Sasuke stepped in to help her. She felt as if she was drowning in the mass of villagers.

"The crowd got out of control quick." Ino exhaled. "We were not anticipating that."

"Let's make sure that doesn't happen again, it was quite a nuisance." Shikamaru informed. "And you do realize that when we held the kunai to Sasuke's throat, it wouldn't have changed the outcome of anything."

"I had Akamaru holding him down." Kiba objected. Akamaru barked in agreement, and Shikamaru looked at him, flatly.

"Be as that may be, his strength alone outnumbers us." Shikamaru stated, coolly. "Have you not heard of some of the people he took down before the Fourth Shinobi War?"

Hinata knew that there was some validity in Shikamaru's statement which is why she intercepted between their quarrel. However, the Hyuuga heiress wasn't quite sure if he would have cut her friends down. Not if she would have asked him not to. No, Hinata was not afraid of the man that the hoi polloi called a demon, a traitor, or a murderer. Maybe at first she may had been, but the recent interactions with him had allowed that fear to melt away.

Of course, this would be silly to some. They would say that she would need to keep her guard up, that he was a master of manipulation, a sociopath, but she couldn't bring herself to think of him in that way.

"Yeah, we have." After the food was rationed out, Gakukoru walked up to them, and he smiled.

"Thank you for all of your help."

"No problem." Hinata returned the same kind expression. "It is what w-we are supposed to d-do."

"Well, it is getting late for you shinobi to head back." Gakukoru observed. "Why don't you all stay at my home?"

"Hee?" Sakura asked, surprised. "Really?"

"Of course, you all have given us food, it is the least that we could do." Gakukoru offered. "There is enough room at my estate."

"Thank you for your hospitality." Ino smiled at him.

"It is no problem." The village head started to walk down the street, and Hinata looked over at Sasuke.

Where would he sleep tonight? Would it be out in the open?

"I_I will catch up with you guys." The Hyuuga heiress strolled over to the Uchiha heir, and she saw him pursue his lips.

"what do you want, Hyuuga?' The Uchiha heir growled.

"Do you have s-somewhere to sleep tonight, Sasuke-san?"

"That is none of your concern." Hinata observed at him, quietly as she searched his face for an answer, and the Uchiha heir scowled. "They have a hotel here."

"Okay as long as it is somewhere warm."

"Your hurt aren't you?"

"what?" Hinata asked, baffled.

"Your façade doesn't work on me." Sasuke informed. "And judging by that reaction you gave me, it would appear that I was correct, so where is it." The Hyuuga heiress held up her hands, and she kept her usual gentle visage.

"I-I have to go, Sasuke-san." Hinata urged. "don't worry a-about it."

"Who said that I was worried about you?" The Uchiha heir hissed, icily. Hinata nodded at him, and she turned around to catch up with the others.

XXXX

Was he worried about her? Hell, no.

The only reason why he was concerned about her being hurt would be to make sure that it wouldn't mess up her ability to fight against him. Furthermore, it annoyed him how she so gracious giving out the food to those who would have trampled over her to get it.

What was wrong with her?

The sun was beginning to set, the sky turned a vibrant array of different colors, and Sasuke rolled his eyes. He made his way to a hotel, the hotel was small, and a man looked at him, shocked when he entered.

"I would like a room for tonight."

"This is not a place for demons." The man said, boldly.

"I would assume that you saw me threaten your neighbor right?" Sasuke asked, curtly. The man gasped to himself, and he pulled put a pair of keys from underneath the counter.

"Here, please take these, it will be free of charge for your room tonight." He explained. "This room is keys to room 45."

"I see you still have your wits about you." The Uchiha heir sneered as he grabbed the keys. "And do you all offer room service."

"Yes, we do." The man murmured in compliance. "Your dinner will be up soon."

"Hmph, good." Sasuke made his way towards the room, it had been the smallest one that he had been in, and there wasn't much to it. However, the Uchiha heir didn't really mind, and he sat down on the bed. Sasuke started to hear voices outside of his door, and he started to recognize one of the voices belonged to sakura. The Uchiha heir opened up the door, seeing sakura come down the hallway, and he leaned against the frame.

"You and I need to talk." Sasuke didn't answer her, a clear expression of apathy on his face, and Sakura crossed her arms.

"Why are you here?" Sakura asked, curiously

"I can go wherever I please, I am free from confines."

"Yes, that is true, but why are you specifically here, how did you know we were going to be here?"

"I didn't it was mere coincidence." Sakura nodded as if she was taking a mental note, and the Uchiha heir crossed his arms. "But, that isn't the real reason why you are here is it?"

"Ho-" Sasuke cut her off.

"You are so easy to read." The Uchiha heir groaned in annoyance. "Get on with the real question as to why you are here."

"Why did you step in and help out Hinata?"

"Help?"' The Uchiha heir scoffed. "Do you honestly think that I helped her out of some form of benevolence?"

"That is what it looked like." Sakura smiled at him, the Uchiha heir didn't like the gleam in her eyes, and his eyes narrowed.

"It wasn't, I can assure you." Sasuke hissed through gritted teeth.

"Then why?"

"Pity."

"Pity?" Sakura looked at him, perplexed. "You helped her out of pity?"

"Yes, all of my actions that you may have misconstrued as a form of aid was out of pity." The Uchiha heir explained. "This includes me lowering my katana." Sakura's cheeks grew hot in embarrassment, and Sasuke smirked at her. "You have come to the realization haven't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." The pink haired kunoichi balled up her fist, and she scowled at him.

"Come on, Sakura, you have come to the realization that what you thought may have been a slight change in me was nothing more than a misguided hope." The Uchiha heir interpreted. "You of all people should know that I do everything for my own gain, so you coming here was a waste of time." Sasuke went to slam the door shut, but not before he caught sight of Sakura.

"You should see yourself out, you know the way." The Uchiha heir slammed the door, it was none of her business as to why he did anything for the Hyuuga heiress. He lied to the Haruno, he couldn't let her know that there were completely opposite reasons behind his actions. No, he had an image to uphold, and Sasuke was not going to taint it.

-Several hours later-

The Uchiha heir was given the dinner, it was a bowl of jasmine rice, and a cup of water. He figured that it was probably not the new food that was just given out to them, but instead a part of leftovers. Sasuke didn't care, it served the purpose of fulfilling his hunger, and he took a few bites of it. Once he was finished, the Uchiha heir gathered his stuff, and he sauntered out of his room. Sasuke was not going to stay in the hotel if he was going to receive any more unexpected visits. The Uchiha heir walked through the streets, and he made his presence, inconspicuous. Tonight, he would be sleeping outside.

XXXX

The Hyuuga heiress sat in the room, Ino stretched out her limbs, and she collapsed on the bed like mat.

"It feels so nice to have a hot bath." Ino sighed. "And that was quite gracious for the head of the village to give us a place to stay." Ino had on a white kimono, and Sakura came out of the bathroom. She rubbed a towel through her hair, she had on a dark blue kimono, and Ino raised an eyebrow at her.

"You didn't take up the hot water for Hinata-chan did you?"

"No." Sakura said, quickly. "Hinata-san, the bathroom is ready for you."

"O-Oh, thank you, I will take a b-bath later."

"Okay, it is open for you whenever you decide to."

"Thank you, s-so much."

"Did you enjoy dinner, Hinata-chan?" Ino asked, inquisitively.

"Oh yes, it was very good." Hinata admitted. "The steamed dumplings were my favorite."

"I think they were everyone's favorite." Sakura chuckled. "But don't you find this place a little odd?"

"W-why do you say that, Sakura-san?" Hinata inquired.

"This estate is in the finest condition while the other buildings are so mundane." Sakura observed. "The village head shouldn't have a better home than the rest of the villagers, it should be the other way around."

"True, his food seemed exotic as well." Ino frowned to herself. "We will have to do more scouting in the morning."

"Agreed." Hinata assured.

"Well, I'm going to turn in." Ino yawned. "We have a full day ahead of us."

"I am too, don't stay up too late, Hinata-chan."

"I won't." Hinata watched Ino, and Sakura turn over into their mats, and she waited till she heard them drift off to sleep. The Hyuuga heiress got up, heading towards the bathroom, and she pulled down the sleeve of her jacket. A huge flower shaped bruise was bloomed on her shoulder, Hinata winced, slightly, and she sighed. The Hyuuga heiress expected the house to be quiet, but she heard light footsteps throughout the house. Hinata frowned to herself, she slid open her door, and she noticed a small light coming outside. The Hyuuga heiress made her way, quietly, through the estate, and she strolled out of the estate. However, the light had disappeared out of her sight, Hinata began to look around outside, but she caught sight of Sasuke.

XXXX

Sasuke saw the Hyuuga heiress, she seemed to be looking for something, and he approached her.

"What are you doing?" The Uchiha heir exasperated.

"I-I saw an light and was c-checking to see what it was."

"I see." Sasuke grabbed her shoulder, squeezing it, and Hinata let out a small yelp. "That is what I thought." He saw her hand go to her shoulder, reflexively, and she trembled.

"How did you know it was on my shoulder?"

"I knew by the way that you were positioned on the ground, it was the only plausible place that something like that would be."

"Oh."

"Does it hurt that much?" He saw her look at him, confused by the question, but the Uchiha heir didn't offer any kind of explanation for his question.

"Sasuke-san."

"Answer the question, Hyuuga." The Uchiha heir urged.

"A little." Hinata confessed.

"See, this is why you should have let me cut down that man." Sasuke reached up a hand, hesitantly, and a baffled expression spread across her face. His fingertips touched her silk hair, and Sasuke brushed a strand of it behind her ear.

What was he doing?

A rouge color spread across her face, the Uchiha heir's fingertips moved to her cheek, and they lingered there.

"I-Isn't this bothering you?" Hinata asked, breathlessly.

"No, but it should be." After a few moments, the sound of men chattering interrupted their moment, and Hinata pulled away from him.

"Did you hear that?"

"I did." The Uchiha heir confirmed.

"It sounds like Gakukoru, I am going to check it out." She began to walk away from Sasuke, but the Uchiha heir grabbed her wrist. Hinata turned around, and Sasuke stared at her, coolly.

"I am coming with you."

**Please review the story, I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you all enjoyed it as there will be more to come- FireGladiator.**


	10. Retribution

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, or any aspect of it. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

The Beauty of Power

Chapter 10

What was the purpose of this alliance with Hinata? The answer had been clear to him when he first met the Hyuuga heiress. It was to merely use her as a means to fulfill his boredom, to satisfy the empty feeling of not belonging to a world with no violence. He was not a blood thirsty man as much as it seemed, it was just that all the violence, all the fights had made him feel alive. So, according to what was supposed to be the plan, he was merely going to fight her on a daily basis, not giving a second thought to her well-being. However, this plan started to become tainted by a few things. The first one being that he had agreed to the festival, the second one was that he had allowed her to sleep on him, and the third one was helping her when the crowd got out of control. Not only did his plan for her become tainted, but now, he was touching her.

What was going on with him?

He also liked the way that her cheeks flushed a little red when he touched her.

What was this? Sasuke didn't like anything.

The Uchiha heir could say now, that the alliance that he had first sought out with her had faded away into nothing. No. Now, he found himself interested in something else. He was interested Hinata as a woman. Sasuke was never really attracted to any woman before, so this was new to him.

Furthermore, he couldn't believe that he agreed to accompany the Hyuuga heiress as she made her way towards the voices. The thought of Hinata getting into another bind agitated him, so to make sure that she didn't, he was going with her.

He stared at her back as she moved through the night, she was a frail young woman, and Sasuke could see her thin silhouette through that oversized jacket of hers. The Uchiha heir activated his sharingan, he didn't like the unexpected in any aspects of his life, and that included unanticipated company. The voice became more and more apparent, and it led them to the towns square. Hinata hid behind a building, and the Uchiha heir crossed his arms. She bit her lip, and she smiled at him.

"Thank you, Uchiha-san, for c-coming with me."

"Whatever." The Uchiha heir said, dismissively. "Just get on with this, I'm getting tired." The Hyuuga heiress nodded at him, activating her byakugan, and she snaked her head around the corner.

"There are t-three men with Gakukoru." Hinata informed. "They seem to be in an argument, but I-I can't hear them." She turned back to Sasuke, and the Uchiha heir remained silent.

"I-I need to a get a little closer, I am going to try to g-get behind that building over there." The Hyuuga heiress beckoned to a tall building closer to the four men, and the Uchiha heir gave her a slight nod. He watched her make her way to the other building, directing his attention to the men, but they seemed oblivious to the Hyuuga heiress's eavesdropping.

_What idiots. _

The Uchiha heir considered to turn back around, and leave the Hyuuga heiress right here in the night. This was not any of his business, and he didn't like sticking his nose in anything that it didn't belong.

But what if she gets seen by these fools?

_Don't care_. Sasuke thought to himself. _She is a shinobi, she can handle herself. _

Immediately, he clicked his tongue in annoyance. He was lying to himself. If he truly didn't care, then why would he was standing here at this moment?

Did this prove that he was protective of her? **Maybe.**

XXXX

Hinata looked at Gakukoru, and he fell to his knees. The three men surrounded him, and they looked, displeased.

"I-I am sorry." Gakukoru muttered, lowly. The Hyuuga heiress pursed her lips, seeing a broken expression on the village head's face, and one of the men spoke.

"You fool." He growled. "How dare you bring those shinobi from Konohagakure here?"

"I didn't, Kishiiro." Gakukoru said, defensively. "I don't know who did."

"This is between this village and us." The second man hissed, and he reached over grabbing the collar of Gakukoru's kimono.

"I know." Gakukoru said, quickly. "The shinobi will be out of here soon, Osugi."

"They better be." The third man warned. He pulled out a naginata, Osugi constricted Gakukoru's arms, and he pointed it to his chest. Gakukoru began to whimper, Hinata's eyes widened in shock, and she began to dread for what to come next. She wanted to intervene, but she didn't want to blow her cover. The Hyuuga heiress pursed her lips, and she reached inside of her pocket, feeling the cold steel of her kunai. If anything else were to progress any further, she would step in.

"Could it be that daughter or son of yours?" The third man asked, curiously. Hinata's eyes widened at the news. The village head had children? She had not seen any signs in that estate that anyone had been living there, why was that?

"No, no, it wouldn't be they wouldn't jeopardize our deal, Taguchiji." Gakukoru fumbled.

"Hmph!" Taguchiji grunted. He didn't seem to be too convinced. "I guess you are right."

"After all, if it wasn't for us, you and your family would be starving with all the rest of the villagers." Osugi explained.

Hinata eyes widened in surprise, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Were these men response for the famine plaguing the village? There was a dark aura surrounding these men, they didn't look like missing ninja, but looks were deceiving.

"Well, do any of the shinobi from Konohagakure look like they could pose a threat?" Osugi smirked.

"Well." Gakukoru began. "One of the shinobi is their previous Hokage's protégé, and one is a Hyuuga, and…"

"Then, they are a threat." Kishiiro snapped. "It would be wise to not let them in on what is going on here."

"I understand."

How could such a man give away such things about them?

He has seemed so nice. Hinata shook her head of the thought, she knew that he was being pressured into giving this intel.

"How long do you think the food they brought will last?" Osugi inquired.

"It was a carriage that they brought."

"Then, we will have to go and destroy all the food when they leave."

"These are innocent children, they don't deserve to starve." Gakukoru defended. "They have done nothing."

"You and they are all descendants of the Ahumishi, no different for us." Taguchiji hissed. "Your ancestors robbed us our predecessors of our birthright and flourished on it, we are rectifying the situation."

"Your predecessors tried to kill Ahumishi." Gakukoru grimaced at them. "He did what he had to."

"Another word and we burn down all the food we gave you, burn down your home, and let your rot here like the rest." Gakukoru pursed his lips together, nodding in compliance, and the man dropped him to the ground. He yelped in agony, and the men sighed in irritation.

"Look, old man, we will be around here, watching you." Kishiiro stated. "Keep that in mind." And with that, the men were gone, and Gakukoru quietly cried to himself. Hinata wanted to console him, tell him that they would take care of all his worries, but she restrained herself. She need to tell the others about this information. After a few moments, Gakukoru picked himself up from the ground, and headed back towards the estate. Hinata waited to make sure that he was gone, and the Hyuuga heiress walked over to where she had left Sasuke.

XXXX

This man was so weak, allowing himself to be manipulated like that. The Uchiha heir could almost say that he pitied the old fool if it wasn't for his unwillingness to empathize for others. He saw Hinata stroll over to him, and he looked at her, bored.

"I bet, it killed you to see him get handled that way by those men." Sasuke sneered, already knowing the answer.

"I-It did." The Hyuuga heiress admitted. "I have tell the o-others about this, w-we have to help them."

The Uchiha heir could see where this was going, and he knew that this would result in trouble for him.

"It is getting late, I'm leaving."

"I'm so sorry for keeping you out so l-late, Uchiha-san." Hinata apologized. "I s-should start heading back to the e-estate before Gakukoru notices."

The Uchiha heir stopped in his tracks, and he looked at her out the corner of his eye.

"Hey, Hyuuga, don't get yourself killed." Sasuke stated, coolly. He saw a flicker of surprise spread across her face, and then a smile settled on her lips.

"I promise."

"We'll see." Sasuke hissed, lowly, and with that, he disappeared into the night.

XXXX

Hinata made her way back towards Gakukoru's residence, and it seemed that Gakukoru hadn't come back yet. His estate was sill quiet with the sleeping shinobi, the Hyuuga heiress slipped into the bedroom, and Ino, and sakura were sleeping, soundly. Hinata ran the hot bath water, diving into the tub, and she took a quick bath. The bath was the prefect thing to relax Hinata before she went to bed, she collapsed on her matt, and allowed her fatigue overcome her.

-The next morning-

Hinata opened up her eyes to the feel of the sun rays on her face, and she lifted up. She looked around the room to see Sakura, and Ino were getting dressed, and Sakura smiled at her.

"Morning." Sakura chimed. "You must have stayed up late." Hinata rubbed her eyes, snapping herself out of the morning haze, and she got up.

"I-I have to tell you guys something." The Hyuuga heiress said, quickly. "S-so last night, I noticed a small light coming from outside, and I followed it. " I saw Gakukoru talking with three m-men, and these t-three men have been causing the f-famine here."

"What?" Ino asked, surprised as her eyebrows arched. "And the village head allowed this?"

"I-I think he is being manipulated." Hinata speculated. "a-and he told these men about us, each one of us, I-I don't know where these men are, but they promised to be keeping an eye on us."

"Well, we certainly cannot leave now." Sakura fastened her jounin jacket over her body, and Ino nodded at her in agreement.

"We cannot allow these villages to be back at square one, we have to inform the guys about this." The Hyuuga heiress nodded at them, and a knock came at the door.

"Excuse me, ladies, Gakukoru has requested you for breakfast." A servant girl informed on the other side of the door.

"Okay, we will be out in a minute." Hinata began to change, quickly, and she slipped on her sandals.

"So these men do they know everything about us?" Sakura asked, curiously.

"O-only basic stuff." Hinata explained. "But, t-they didn't look like shinobi." I-it seems to be some k-kind of internal c-conflict." The men seem to be funding Gakukoru with the food."

"I see, so that explains it." Once the Hyuuga heiress finished getting dressed, she followed Ino, and Sakura out of the room to the dining area. The sound of Shikamaru's and Kiba's voice could be heard down the hallway. Hinata walked into the dining room, there was a long table with all kinds of fruits, and rolled omelets were on each plate. The elderly village head sat at the end of the table, giving her a smile, and it was odd. It was so different seeing him now than, it was last night.

"Good morning!" Gakukoru beamed. "I hope you girls slept well."

"W-we did." Hinata sat down next to Kiba, and a servant girl came around, pouring her white tea. "Thank you."

"It is no problem."

"You should try the rolled omelet." Kiba suggested. "It is the best that I have ever tasted." Hinata nodded at him, and she took a bite of it.

"So about how long does it take you guys to travel back to Konohagakure?" Gakukoru asked, curiously.

"About three days." Shikamaru informed. "Why?" The Hyuuga heiress could see Shikamaru was thinking hard about something, and she figured that he was able to pick up on the deception of the elderly village head.

"Oh, I was just wondering how long it must have taken you all to get here." Gakukoru defended. The door to the dining room slid open causing everyone to perk up, and a woman and man stood in the doorway. The woman had long brown hair pulled up into a high ponytail. She had on a green kimono adored in pink flowers, and the man had short black hair. He had on a dark blue kimono, and they both had matching brown eyes. Gakukoru's face went white automatically, Hinata knew right away that it must had been his children, and his mouth hung agape.

"W-what are you all doing h-here?" Gakukoru muttered.

"We thought we would come pay you a visit." The young woman smiled at him. "Who are you guests?"

"We are shinobi from Konohagakure." Kiba explained. "We came here to help out with the famine."

"Thank you." The young man explained, and he turned on his heels. "We talk to you outside when you guys are finished." His eyes rested on Gakukoru, and the elderly village head pursed his lips, nodding. They left out of the dining room, there was a heaviness placed in the air, and Ino looked at the Gakukoru.

"Who was that?" she asked, curiously

"No one important." Gakukoru smiled, grimly. "Please continue eating, and excuse me." He got up, Hinata watched him slid the door behind him, and Shikamaru crossed his arms.

"He is hiding something."

"Agreed." Akamaru barked in agreement, and Hinata bit her lip.

"I-I was able to gather s-some information last night when everyone was asleep?"

"You did?" Kiba asked, shocked. "How?" Hinata explained all the events of last night to Shikamaru and Kiba. She had left out the fact that Sasuke was with her, and when she was finished, the pink haired kunoichi stood up.

"Let's find him, and confront him about this." The shinobi got up, walking out of the dining room, and Hinata heard someone arguing. She followed the sounds of the argument with everyone, and it lead them to the back of the residence in the garden. The young man and women seemed to be trying to reason with the elderly village head, but he was shaking his head. Gakukoru caught sight of the shinobi, and they walked up to him.

"We know that you are hiding something." Ino said, bluntly. "What is going on?"

"What are you talking about?" His face became hard.

"I-I heard you last n-night." Hinata informed, and the elderly village head's eyes widened. "Please, I didn't try to pry, I just stumbled across y-you talking with those men."

"So you know." Gakukoru sighed, heavily. "Please, everyone, these are my children, my son Ryuuku, and my daughter Usami."

"Pleased to meet you all." Usami said with a bow. "I am truly happy to see you all here."

"Yes, especially to break the control that those men have over my father." Ryuuku looked at Gakukoru, and then back at them.

"I don't understand." Ino frowned, perplexed. "Is this some kind of war between clans?"

"Sort of." Gakukoru explained. "The two founders of this village were my uncle Ahumishi, and my grandfather, Kisyukoru, and during their rule, this village was highly affluent." However, we were invaded by neighboring villagers who plundered us of everything, and we spun into economic turmoil." My uncle sought to solve the hardship by reaching out to other villages, but my grandfather disagreed." My grandfather thought that the village should try to resolve the problem on their own efforts, by plundering other villages." This caused a rift between the two brothers, and eventually the village split into two. "Those who agreed with my grandfather stayed here, and those who agreed with my uncle went with him."

Hinata's eyes widened at him in shock, and she pursed her lips. "b-but those men called you a descent of Ahumishi."

"Because I have sided with his ideals." Gakukoru explained. "You see, I have seen what my grandfather's path does to people, my grandmother was a woman who had been taken from a village that my grandfather burned it down." She was forced to bear children for my grandfather, and all of her children were killed in battles that my grandfather engaged it." My mother was just like my grandmother. She was forced to bear children for my father after being taken from a village." But, when I was teenage boy, I ran away to here, and was taken in by my uncle." I was raised here till my adult years, and when I turned twenty-one, my grandfather attacked the village in hopes to reunite the two village." However, his efforts proved to be futile, and my uncle was killed him including all his followers." It was kept a secret that I was my grandfather's descendent when I was made head of this village."

"So how did these men come about?" Kiba asked, curiously. "I thought they were all killed."

"I did too until they appeared a couple of months ago, and began to cause the famine as punishment for what my uncle did." Gakukoru stated and his eyes began to water." they took pity on me knowing my true lineage and agreed that they would keep my family alive, if I didn't interfere in what the villagers were going through." But, I couldn't stand seeing the malnourished villagers, their cries for help, and knowing I couldn't do anything."

"So, who sent us to come help you?"

"I did." Usami admitted. "It was not just to help the villagers, but in hopes that you all can relinquish this stronghold that they have over my father, and this village."

"h-how are they causing the famine?" Hinata asked, shocked. "t-they don't look like shinobi."

"They aren't, but they might as well be, they have taught a lot of what you all know from missing ninja." Ryuuku stated. "They have some kind of control over the earth."

"We will help you." Ino assured. "Do you have to meet with them again?"

"Tonight, but I am sure that they are watching us right now." Gakukoru said, fearfully. "This is why you two should have not come here." He shot a glare at Ryuuku, and Usami.

"We can't stand seeing you like this." Ryuuku defended

"Then, when you meet with him tonight, we will come with you." The pink haired kunoichi planned.

"Thank you, everyone."

"Hmm... yes, thank you very much." A sinister voice came from above, and all their heads snapped up. Hinata gasped as the three men jumped off the top of the roof, and Ryuuku pushed Usami behind him.

"Stay back!" warned Ryuuku. Taguchiji walked up to him, balling up his fists, and he punched him in the stomach as hard as he could. Ryuuku's eyes widened as his mouth opened up, letting out a strangled cry, and he collapsed on the ground. Taguchiji grabbed him, lifting him up over his shoulder, and Kishiiro grabbed Usami. She screamed, frantically, the elderly village head tried to grab her, but the Kishiiro pushed him back on the ground.

"You betrayed us, Gakukoru." Osugi growled. "How dare you."

"P-please give t-them back!" Gakukoru shouted. Hinata reached into the pocket, grabbing a kunai, and she shot it towards the Taguchiji's direction. He deflected it with his naginata, his eyes resting on her and the rest of the shinobi.

"Come any closer, and we will kill them." he assured. "I'm sure you don't want their blood on their hands." He looked back at Gakukoru. "Meet us tonight at the same place, and we will decide then what to do with you and your family." And with last comment, the men took off, and Gakukoru began to burst into tears, hysterical.

"They are going to kill them!" he wailed. "I know they will." Hinata knelt down, touching his shoulder, and he looked up at her.

"I promise that we will get them back." She smiled at him, warmly, and Gakukoru nodded at her.

"How?" the elderly man asked, shocked.

"Hmm" Shikamaru began to calculate. "I'll come up with something."

XXXX

The sound of someone screaming caught the attention of the Uchiha heir, and he tried to try to ignore the noise. However, the screaming continued to persist, Sasuke flinched in agitation, and he groaned himself.

_Shut up. _

The Uchiha heir started to realize that the screams would not desist, and he headed towards the direction of it. Whoever it was, he would end their annoying disruptions. The noise lead him to an underground cave entrance, it was near the graves of the dead, and Sasuke remained hidden. He immediately recognized the three men from last night, however, they had a young man, and a frantic young woman with them.

"Shut her up." Osugi groaned. Kishiiro threw her to the ground, roughly, and he grabbed the hem of her kimono.

"If you don't stop, we'll slit your throat." He warned. The young woman nodded at him, and she stopped her disruptive behavior. Sasuke rubbed his temples, and he turned on his heels. Whatever was going on, was not his problem.

"What are we going to do about the shinobi?" Osugi inquired. The Uchiha heir stopped in his tracks, his sharingan automatically activated, and he pursed his lips.

"If they interfere, we will kill them." Kishiiro chuckled. "Are you not willing to try for your revenge?"

"I am." Osugi growled. "But expect there to be quite a fight."

"Well..." Taguchiji pulled out his naginata. "We shall see tonight." He grabbed the woman, throwing her into the cave, and a smirk spread across his face. The Uchiha heir's eyes narrowed, and his hand rested on the hilt of his katana.

_Yes, indeed we shall. _

XXXX

The place where Gakukoru agreed to meet the men was near the unmarked grave of Kisyukoru, and the elderly village head stood in front of it. The Hyuuga heiress stood behind a tree, the moonlight lit up the night, casting an eerie glow over where they were, and she pressed her lips.

"I hope this works." Ino said, coolly.

"I-I am sure that it will." Hinata smiled at her. The men started to come into light, and they had Usami and Ryuuku tied up.

"The sight look familiar?" Osugi asked, icily. "This is where your father died at."

"I know this, I have visited this place often."

"Have you?" Kishiiro asked, questioningly. "Then why abandon him?"

"I didn't, he abandoned what we stood for." Gakukoru defended.

"That is bullshit." Taguchiji growled. Taguchiji pushed Usami and Ryuuku to the ground.

"Don't hurt them!" Gakukoru pleaded.

"An eye for an eye, Gakukoru, we gave you a chance, and you blew it." Kishiiro beckoned to Taguchiji, Taguchiji pulled out his naginata ready to bring the blade down on them, and Akamaru lunged for him. At that moment, the shinobi from Konoha made their presence known, and Hinata ran towards Taguchiji. She activated her byakugan, Taguchiji grinned at her, and a dark chakra began to pour of his body. Her eyes widened in shock, he charged towards her, and pulled shuriken out of his pocket. He threw them towards her, Hinata spun on her heels, deflecting them, and he went to punch her. She ducked down, avoiding the blow, and she jabbed his side with her hand. The Hyuuga heiress watched the chakra flow dampen, slightly, and Taguchiji growled at her. He took his naginata, trying to stab her, and she bent the other way, avoiding it. Hinata kept her eyes on Taguchiji, he became agitated when he realized that he couldn't stab her, and she began to use her Gentle Fists. With each stab, Hinata began to deplete his chakra, and Taguchiji roared in anger. He grabbed her wrist as she tried to deliver the final blow, the Hyuuga heiress gasped at him, and he took out a kunai. She noticed that the kunai dripped with a purple liquid, and she knew it was poison.

"Perceptive woman, I see." He chuckled. "This poison spreads through the movement of the body including involuntary movements such as your heart beat, your body will be tainted with this in a matter of seconds." Hinata gasped at him, and she began to pull away. She wanted to scream, but Hinata felt her throat dry up.

"I thought I told you not to get yourself killed." A voice hissed. The Hyuuga heiress saw a dark figure appear in front of her, and she was met with red eyes.

"Sasuke-san."

XXXX

The Uchiha heir saw Taguchiji looked at him, baffled, and he stabbed him through the chest. Taguchi staggered backwards, blood pouring from the wound, and Sasuke looked at him, unemotionally.

"You asshole!" Taguchiji shouted. Sasuke remained silent, Taguchiji picked up his naginata, and he swung it at the Uchiha heir. The Uchiha heir deflected it with ease as his hand electrified with the bright blue flow of chidori, Taguchiji looked at him, shocked, and he struck the same wound in his chest. The Uchiha heir deepened the wound, Taguchiji looked at him, shocked, and then a smirk crept across his face.

"What is so amusing?" Sasuke asked. "Death?"

"That." Taguchiji muttered with his last breath. "And that someone like you would make any effort to save some woman." The Uchiha heir growled as death overcame Taguchiji, and he slumped against him.

"Don't act as if you know me." Sasuke pushed him off of him, and he stared into Taguchiji's half-opened eyes. "And you are wrong in one area." The Uchiha heir averted his gaze to Hinata who looked at him with parted lips. "She is not some woman."

**Please review the story, I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you all enjoyed it as there will be more to come- FireGladiator.**


	11. Breaking Points

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, or any aspect of it. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

The Beauty of Power

Chapter 11

Sasuke flicked the blood of his sword, Hinata sighed in relief, and she smiled at him.

"Thank you, Sasuke-san." The Hyuuga heiress said, breathlessly. Sasuke scrutinized her, he saw Hinata trembling, slightly, perhaps in dismay.

"Tell me, Hinata." The Uchiha heir sauntered over to her, and there was an unfathomable expression on his face. "Are you afraid of death?"

"W-what?" Hinata asked, shocked.

"Don't make me repeat myself." The Uchiha heir hissed. Hinata shook her head, his red eyes were met with her pearl ones for the first time, and she pursed her lips.

"I-I am not afraid of death." The Hyuuga heiress admitted. "It is an inevitable end that every h-human being faces, I just don't want to be taken from this world in an h-harsh way."

"Well." Sasuke began. "You won't have to worry about that…at least not anymore." He saw a flicker of surprise come across her face, and he turned around, beginning to walk away. "I'm leaving."

"Wait, Sasuke-san, I-I have to figure out why the ground is not fertile." Hinata reached out to stop him, she grabbed his arm, gently, and the Uchiha heir's body tensed up. His eyes glossed over to her hand, she pulled back, and she bit her bottom lip.

"I'm sorry." The Hyuuga heiress apologized. "I did-" Sasuke cut her off.

"I don't mind it." Sasuke informed. "At least, I don't mind it, **now**." So how is the unfruitful ground my problem?"

" I-I don't know if there are more of these m-men, I suspect not, but t-two people are better to take them on than one." A kind expression was on her face, and the Uchiha heir stared at her.

"Fine." Sasuke growled after a long pause. He couldn't believe that he agreed to involve himself any further into this matter, and he wouldn't have done so if it were not for that reason that Hinata brought up.

Did she suspect that he was going to bend when she asked him? Hell, why not? He had bended to everything else that she said. The Uchiha heir's jaw clenched up, and he cursed underneath his breath.

She was taking advantage of how soft he was becoming.

_How about I unsheathe my katana and show her how soft I have really become. _Sasuke began to ponder the thought in his head, his hand moving towards the hilt of his katana, but then he stopped himself. _ And what will you do when the blade is out, cut her down? _

_**No, you won't do anything. **_ Hinata had imprinted upon him, and it overcame his mundane need to strike fear into her heart. Sasuke's eyes followed the Hyuuga heiress who strolled over to Gakukoru, and he was off to the side. The elderly village head was quivering in fear at the sight of the fighting shinobi. However, his eyes met the Uchiha heir, and all color drained from his face.

"P-please don't k-kill me." Gakukoru stammered. His attention focused on Sasuke, and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

_Shut up, you whiny fool_.

"If I wanted you dead, you would be." The Uchiha heir exasperated. The Uchiha heir watched the Hyuuga heiress kneel down, and she placed a hand on her shoulder.

"C-can you show us where you first noticed signs of the famine." Hinata inquired. Gakukoru's eyes moved away from Sasuke to her, and he nodded. He got up to his feet, and beckoned to them to follow. The elderly village head lead them to a small valley not too far from his father's grave site. The ground was brown, and dead crops were littered all over the ground, black and barren.

"This is where it all begun." Gakukoru muttered, grimly. He reached down, picking up a dead corn stalk, and he tossed it. The disproportionality of the dirt scattered all over the valley caught the attention of the Uchiha heir, and he grimaced.

Why does it look like that?

"I-I don't see anything." The Hyuuga heiress scanned the valley with a frown on her face, and she turned to Sasuke. "H-how about you, Sasuke-san?" The Uchiha heir knelt down, spreading out the dirt with his hand, and it revealed a paper seal.

"This valley has been sealed up." Sasuke informed.

"Is there any history in m-making seals in your v-village?" Hinata asked the elderly village head.

"No, not at all, they must have learned that when they left the village." Gakukoru shook his head as he said this.

"P-probably from missing n-ninja." Hinata knelt down, scanning the seal, and she touched it, lightly. "I h-have never seen this kind of paper seal before."

" it is an earth seal that comes from a small village in the Land of Earth, it sucks the nutrients out of anything that it is placed upon, a ground, a human being, I have run into it a couple of times in battles." Sasuke stated. "Some missing ninja tried to place the paper seal on me."

_Yes, I remember that battle very clearly, and the look of surprise as I robbed them of their existence._

"H-how do we remove it?"

"Can't we just take it off?" Gakukoru stepped forward, the Uchiha heir took out his katana, and he pointed it towards him. Instantly, the elderly village head stopped on his tracks.

"It can only be taken off by those who placed it there and it will explode on any others who try to remove." Sasuke growled. "I don't want to deal with having to dispose of your body if you blew up." The elderly village head nodded at him with wide eyes, and the Uchiha heir lowered his katana.

"It seems t-that the whole valley has been covered in them." Hinata observed. "I-I am sure that every place where crops are grown have these p-paper seals near them." We will have to go back, and make them take off these paper seals."

"Or just ignite them." Sasuke proposed. "These paper seals are layered in an enigmatic design." The Uchiha heir uncovered another paper seal that was angled, and he stood up. "If one of them is ignited, they are set up in a way that all of them will ignite in a sequence."

"H-how do we ignite them?"

"I will just set them on fire." The Uchiha heir shrugged. The Hyuuga heiress looked at him, perplexed.

"Don't ask how, let's just get to a safe distance." Sasuke watched the Hyuuga heiress lead Gakukoru far away from the sight, and he followed behind. When they got to a safe distance, the Uchiha heir activated his mangekyo sharingan, and he focused on one of the paper seals.

"Amaterasu."

XXXX

Hinata watched Sasuke set the paper seal on fire, the paper seal was engulfed in the unnatural black flames of Amaterasu, and she couldn't help, but stare at him in awe. Sure! She had seen the sharingan before, she saw it when she fought against Madara in the Fourth Shinobi War, but never at an up close distance. Furthermore, the Hyuuga heiress had never witnessed such a power to be displayed in front of her without her being caught in the crossfire. The power of an Uchiha heir, and this powerful Uchiha heir was helping her. Although, she knew that he would never admit to helping anyone, but in reality he had. Sasuke had protected her on several occasions now. Hinata promised herself that she would repay her debt to him by trying to protect him. It was only right.

"I can't believe my eyes." Gakukoru looked at her, baffled, and her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

"W-what?"

"The infamous Uchiha is helping us." Gakukoru muttered. "I thought the rumors were true about him, that he was a cold, uncaring man, but it would appear not."

_No, Sasuke is not uncaring that I know for sure. _

"I am g-glad that he decided to help us otherwise I don't know how we would g-get those paper seals off."

The Hyuuga heiress could honestly say now that the man she had met in the restaurant all those days ago was not the man who stood before her at the moment. No, something about the Uchiha had changed since then, she could see it.

"Down now." The Uchiha heir ordered. "Unless you want your ears to bleed." The Hyuuga heiress crouched down, covering her ears, and so did Gakukoru. The flames ignited all at once making a booming noise, and she looked up to see the Uchiha heir staring at her. He didn't seem bothered by the noise, the sight of him would have frightened anyone. Those red eyes, and that emotionless face with flames going up in the back of him.

However, Hinata didn't shy away because she knew that he was not feeling what his face gave away.

Within seconds, the explosion immediately attracted the attention of the others, Shikamaru was dragging the two men who were unconscious behind him, and Ino ran up to her.

"Hinata, are you okay!" Ino shouted, frantically. Her face was filled with panic, and Hinata nodded at her.

"O-oh yes." Hinata assured. "We found o-out what has been c-causing the famine." The men placed paper seals on the ground." The Hyuuga heiress picked up a tattered paper seal, and she held it up.

"I see." Shikamaru said as he looked at the two men.

"Then, what was that explosion?" Kiba asked.

"We had to set the s-seals on fire." The Hyuuga heiress explained.

"We?" Sakura asked, shocked.

"Y-yes, Sasuke-san did it." Instantly, she watched their gaze moved to the Uchiha heir, and he was leaning up against a rock with his arms crossed.

"You helped… Hinata?" Ino inquired as her eyes became wide.

"Tch." Sasuke growled. "I don't help anyone."

The Hyuuga heiress couldn't understand why he was one way with her, and another way with her friends. Maybe, it was because the two of them hadn't acknowledge each other before the war? But, he hadn't really known Kiba or Shikamaru either? Hinata recognized that she wouldn't be able to come to a correct answer to the question. It was just the way that he was, and the Hyuuga heiress wouldn't request any other way.

Sasuke's eyes lingered on her for a moment, and then he turned around.

"I owe no one any explanations." And with that statement, Sasuke disappeared into the night. Hinata wanted to speak more with the Uchiha heir, but she had an idea that she would see him later on. The Hyuuga heiress's glossed back over to her baffled friends, and then at the two incapacitated men.

"Did they g-give you m-much trouble?" Hinata inquired.

"No, they didn't." Sakura smiled at her. "But, we saw that the third one was killed, did Sasuke do that?"

"Yes, h-he saved me." Hinata admitted. "The third man was going to kill me, and if it were not for him stepping in then, he would have s-stabbed me with a poison dipped kunai."

"They all had poisoned weaponry on them." Kiba stated "we found multiple shuriken dipped in the same toxin no doubt." I'm glad that you are alright."

"So you said something about setting seals on fire." Sakura asked, confused.

"I w-will explain as w-we go remove them from the other gardens." Hinata smiled. The shinobi nodded at her, and they headed towards the other grounds, valleys or gardens around the village. Hinata expected them to be covered in the seals, but there wasn't a single one there. In fact, there were remnants of where the paper seals had been burned away, which caught the Hyuuga heiress off guard.

Did Sasuke do this? Maybe, Maybe not, but Hinata couldn't help, but feel that it was done just for her.

XXXX

He didn't owe any explanations to anyone for his actions. He did what he wanted and when he wanted with no questions asked. The Uchiha heir felt warm blood trickle down his cheeks, and he knew it was coming from his eyes. The mangekyo sharingan required too much chakra, but Sasuke didn't care. It wasn't as if in a couple of hours, his chakra wouldn't be replenished to its maximum anyways. He figured that the Hyuuga heiress would head over to remove all other paper seals, and he imagined her trying to eliminate them.

No, he wasn't going to allow that. The image of her being thrown back from the explosion from one little mess up was a possibility that Sasuke wanted to eradicate. The Uchiha heir made his way towards every possible ground, garden or valley that surrounded the village. With ease, Sasuke got rid of all the paper seals, and he stared at them as they burned in front of him.

He was beginning to care about her **way** too much. Sasuke could just leave all of this behind, and pretend that it never happened.

**No**. Sasuke found himself yearning for her.

_What is wrong with me?_

The Uchiha heir began to rationalize the situation he was faced with. Maybe it was the basic male need for a woman that he felt this way.

**No**. Sasuke had a feeling that it was much more than that. In fact, it went way beyond that notion.

Now, the question became... what was he going to do about it?

XXXX

The villagers had been informed that the famine was over, and that they could plow in the fields again. The shinobi from Konoha stayed at the village to make sure that the grounds were fertile again, and to their fortunate luck, it began to rain. The rain lasted for days on end, the Hyuuga heiress began to wonder if Sasuke was in the rain since she hadn't seen him for a couple of days now. Gakukoru rationed out the food he had been funded with to the inhabitants to tie them over till when the food started to take root. The first crop took root after a week of rain, and the village was thrown into complete bliss. There was a huge celebration in the village, and it took place around Gakukoru's residence. The celebration lasted late into the night, Hinata stepped out on the porch to get a breath of fresh air, and a slight breeze blew her hair back. However, she caught sight of a male figure walk past the gates, and Hinata gasped. She could have sworn she saw red eyes, and she only knew one person that they could have belonged to. The Hyuuga heiress headed out of the residence towards the direction that the figure went in.

XXXX

Sasuke heard footsteps behind him, he didn't stop to see who it was because he had an idea of who was following him. He had avoided her, attentively, for the past five days, deciding what to do about the predicament he was in, and he had come to a decision. The decision he came to required the presence of the Hyuuga heiress, and he came to a stop. Hinata stopped behind him, he could hear her breathing, heavily from trying to keep up with him.

"Sasuke-san, h-how are you?"

"Fine, why?" The Uchiha heir turned around to face Hinata, and she frowned at him.

"I-I haven't seen you in a couple of days." The Hyuuga heiress observed. "I-I hope everything okay."

"It is."

"The crops are growing back." Sasuke could see that she was trying to make small talk, but he was never really fond of such things.

"I know."

"T-thank you, Sasuke-san, for burning all of the paper seals." The Hyuuga heiress thanked. "y-you didn't have to do t-that."

"Who's to say that I did that?" Sasuke hissed.

"I-I know you did, I-I recognized the black flames."

"I see."

"c-can I ask you something?" Hinata asked, curiously. The Uchiha heir looked at her, unfathomably, and his eyes narrowed at her.

"What?"

"w-why did you do that for me?" the Hyuuga heiress pressed, gently. "Why d-did you save me from that man, why are you doing a-all of these things for me?" There was a long pause between them, the Uchiha heir sauntered towards her, and his face was cool. This was the pivotal moment to enlighten her of his decision.

"I don't know." The Uchiha heir growled. "Maybe it is because you have ruined me." His voice was curt, and she looked at him, perplexed.

"I don't understand." The Hyuuga heiress shook her head at him, and the Uchiha her sighed, heavily.

"Doesn't matter if you do." The Uchiha heir reached over for the Hyuuga heiress's hand, and he grabbed it, gently. He interlaced their fingers together, a slight blush rose on her cheeks, and a shy smile played on her lips.

"But, if you really want a non-ambiguous answer to your question, it would be because you are always getting into trouble or that trouble always follows you."

"I'm sorry, I-I don't mean to be a burden."

"You're not." The Uchiha heir admitted. "But, you are in another way, it is nothing to ponder about, I have decided to take on the burden."

"And what burden is t-that?" The Uchiha heir smirked at Hinata, and he squeezed her hand. He enjoyed the warmth emanating from it, and for the first time, Sasuke Uchiha allowed the barriers he had purposefully set up to come crashing down.

"The burden of having you as mine"

XXXX

-A few days later-

The whole village watched them depart for Konohagakure, and Gakukoru stood ahead of them with Ryuuku on one side and Usami on the other side.

"It was nice to be a part from home for once, but I am ready to go back." Ino sighed.

"I-I am too." The Hyuuga heiress admitted.

"At least we have room to ride in the back of the carriage." Kiba grinned at Hinata, and Akamaru jumped in the back of the carriage.

"Thank you, everyone for your help." Ryuuku bowed. "We will be forever in your debt."

"You all are welcome here anytime." Usami added.

"T-thank you so much."

"D-do you still have your report to turn into Naruto?" Shikamaru asked, curiously.

"Yes, I do." Sakura held out a scroll, and placed it in the inside of her jacket. Once, everyone said their goodbyes, Hinata headed towards the gates of the village, and she saw the Uchiha heir leaning up against it. His eyes made contact with hers, and his expression was cool.

"Sasuke-san?" Hinata asked, shocked. "w-what are you doing here?"

"Don't worry about it." The Uchiha heir said, nonchalantly. He turned on his heels, walking, silently, and never looking back at her. The Hyuuga heiress knew that he was there for her, to make sure that nothing happened, and it made a warmth arise in her chest. Things were different now between the two heirs, that night from a couple of days ago had changed everything between them. It marked a new beginning for Sasuke, and her.

And she looked forward to getting to know who truly Sasuke Uchiha was.

**Please review the story, I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you all enjoyed it as there will be more to come- FireGladiator.**

**Author's Note: Thank you everyone for your reviews so far! I appreciate all your support. **


	12. Perspectives

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, or any aspect of it. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

The Beauty of Power

Chapter 12

They were about a day from Konohagakure. The Uchiha heir didn't say anything to her the whole way there, and she was beginning to wonder about him. Once in a while, the Hyuuga heiress snuck a peek of him, he had an indifferent expression on her face, and when he met her eyes, she turned the other way. A slight blush coming to her face, telling herself, mentally, to look at the ground from now on as a shy smile played on her lips. This was strange for the Hyuuga heiress. She had not really paid any attention to any form of romantic feelings in a long time, at least not after she had confessed her love for Naruto. Of course, it ended up with Naruto and Hinata loving one another as friends, and nothing more. Naruto loved Sakura in the way that Hinata had loved him, and that was fine with the Hyuuga heiress. She wanted to see the jinchuuriki host happy. So, it was not that Hinata still harbored feelings for Naruto, it was just that she has put her love life on pause, and she didn't know how to exactly put herself out there for someone else. Her timid nature prevented the possibility of that every happening, but she didn't expect someone to be interested her would be Sasuke Uchiha. Although, it wasn't exactly quite romantic feelings yet, it was definitely the beginning of something more intimate between the two. Of all people! Sasuke Uchiha, the same man who all those years go, the girls doted and swooned over. She felt flattered, and there was some validity in those girls infatuation with him, he was quite handsome, even Hinata couldn't deny that.

So was she attracted to the Uchiha heir?

The Hyuuga heiress was attracted to Sasuke, but his physiological features was not the main reason as to why she wanted to get to know him. She wanted to get to know him because Hinata was curious about him.

Also, wasn't he attracted to her a little? He did say that he wanted her to be his in a roundabout way. It was only natural that two people who were attracted to one another, learn about each other, but Sasuke was a hard man. Hinata wasn't quite sure if he would share anything with her, about who he was, in fact she could imagine that he would tell her that everything she knew about him already. However, the information Hinata had learned about him, had been delivered through rumors, tainted by the biased feelings of people towards Sasuke Uchiha, so she didn't consider it to be valid.

Hinata's thoughts distracted her, she ran into Ino, and she stumbled backwards.

"Sorry." The Hyuuga heiress apologized. "I didn't m-mean to bump into you."

"It is alright, Hinata-chan." Ino grinned at her, and she waved her, dismissively. A cool wind blew Hinata's hair behind her, the sun was starting to set, and it made the sky turn into a different array of vibrant pastel colors. Everyone had been eerily quiet, no one uttered a word to one another, so it was nice that Ino was breaking the silence. The blond headed kunoichi sighed. "Maybe, we should start setting up camp, after all, I am sure that we are all exhausted, we have been on the move for two days without stopping."

"Agreed, it will start getting dark soon." Shikamaru stated. There were no towns around, just miles of terrain, and some vegetation.

"There is a river a couple of more miles." Sakura informed as she held up a map. "We will set up camp here."

"Okay." Kiba walked up to the Hyuuga heiress, Akamaru was buried in his jacket, and he smiled at her.

"Are you tired, Hinata-chan?" The Inuzuka looked at her, concerned, and Hinata shook her head. However, her legs were tired, and her feet burned from being on them for so long. Yet, these physiological pains were something that she had gotten used to when going on long missions.

"I am fine, n-no worries." Hinata gave him a reassuring smile, and Kiba nodded. "w-what about you?"

"I can't wait to take a break!" Kiba let out a long sigh, making a face, and Hinata let out a low chuckle.

XXXX

The Uchiha heir looked at the Hyuuga heiress out the corner of his eye, and he started to admire her tenacity. Sasuke would have expected her to collapse in exhaustion by now. He didn't mind the demand on his body, he was accustomed to such things, but he also knew that she was tired more than she let on. Shinobi from Konoha went on missions, yes, and they traveled for days, yes, and they did face an immense demand on their bodies depending on the situation that they were placed in. However, it took years for the Uchiha heir to be able to withstand such things without being overcome by his mundane human needs. He could go days without eating or drinking anything, but most shinobi would have fallen over by then. Since they had been traveling, everyone had taken turns sleeping inside of the carriage, but the Uchiha heir didn't. He was too aroused to allow himself to sleep, traveling always aroused him, and it wasn't like he could honestly get a good sleep. The sleep he did received came into two categories. The first category was that he would wake up hour after hour. If he did sleep, restfully, the second category came into play, Sasuke was plagued by the image of Itachi Uchiha looking at him with those ash burn lifeless eyes, a loving smile plastered on his face, and blood trickling out of his mouth. So, to avoid all of it, it was best to not sleep at all.

There were black circles underneath the Uchiha heir's eyes.

He had not spoken to the Hyuuga heiress, in fact he had kept his distance from her, and it was not that he meant to do this, purposefully. It was just that this was all new to him, and he wasn't sure how to go about everything. Sasuke was surprised that no one had said anything to him as to why he was accompanying them on their way back. Good. Cause he sure as hell wasn't going to give the a explanation for it.

And why did he accompany them? A very simple reason really. He wanted the Hyuuga heiress to be his and only his, and he didn't like harm to come what was his.

Oh! How the alliance that he first sought out had become blurred developing into a desire to pursue an intimate relationship with her.

- About thirty minutes later-

The sound of rushing water began to fill Sasuke's hears as they continued to walk, and soon a huge river was spotted cutting through the terrain. The water was crystal blue, he heard a sigh of relief among everyone, and the Nakamura placed lead the horse off to the side.

"We will rest here and be back up early tomorrow." Shikamaru stated. "We should be in Konohagakure by tomorrow's afternoon."

"Sounds good." Kiba chimed. He collapsed on the ground, resting his hands behind his head, and he closed his eyes.

"W-w have food that Gakukoru g-gave us." He watched Hinata walked up to the carriage, pulling out loaves of sweet bread, and she looked at everyone. "I-I am not sure about water though."

"We will drink from the river." Sakura shrugged, and she sat down on the grass.

"I'll munch on a loaf of bread." Shikamaru volunteered. "There is a lot isn't there?"

"Too much t-to count." The Hyuuga heiress handed him one, and Shikamaru unwrapped it. The Uchiha heir watched her grab another loaf, walking over to him, and she smiled, bashfully. "A-are you hungry, Sasuke-san?"

"I am fine." Sasuke held up his hand in front of him. "You eat."

"b-but you haven't eaten a single thing since we l-left the village." Hinata looked at him, worryingly, and Sasuke stared at her. He saw her open up the loaf of bread, and she handed it to him.

"Please eat it." The Hyuuga heiress urged. The Uchiha her kept a cool expression on his face, he let out a sigh, and broke off a piece of it.

_If that will stop you from being a pain. _

"You have not eaten either." Sasuke observed. "You really need stop with the selflessness, it is quite annoying." His voice now slightly agitated. He popped the morceaux of sweet bread in his mouth, and pushed the loaf back into her chest. "I'm done, now leave me alone."

The Hyuuga heiress pursed her lips, and she nodded at him. She turned on her heels, the Uchiha heir grabbed her wrist, gently, and Hinata looked back at him, surprised. A smirk came to his face.

"Eat." Sasuke demanded. He was turning the tables on the Hyuuga heiress, she had been so pushy with him, and so now he was going to be pushy with her.

"w-what?"

"You heard me, eat the food or I will force feed you." Sasuke growled, throatily. "And don't test me, because I swear I'll do it in front of everyone here." The smirk still on his lips, she took off a piece of the bread, and Hinata took a couple of bites. She looked at him for approval, he just scrutinized her, but he was getting his message across without a single word. After about a third of it was gone just by her standing there, Sasuke let go of her wrist. He saw her, blush rose red, and she looked up at him.

"That's enough," The Uchiha heir approved. "I don't need you to throwing up." A slight chuckle was in his voice, the Hyuuga heiress let out a low laugh, and she wrapped the food back up

. "I am done torturing you for now."

"I began to eat, and didn't realize how hungry I was." Hinata admitted.

"Hmph!" Sasuke grunted. "I can't have you dying on me, Hinata, you are fragile, and not immune to such things."

XXXX

The Hyuuga heiress was not embarrassed when he touched her wrists, but she was embarrassed by the fact that she had just eaten all of that food in front of him. However, Hinata knew that is what he wanted her to do, he was always forceful with her, but it was in a caring way.

Yes, Sasuke Uchiha did care for someone… he cared for her regardless of whether he admitted it or not, his actions reflected it.

And here she was laughing, laughing with him! The Hyuuga heiress didn't even know that Sasuke Uchiha even had a sense of humor. She walked back over to the carriage, and the Hyuuga heiress watched the Uchiha heir sit down. He sat with his back towards everyone, and Hinata watched Kiba walk over to Sasuke.

XXXX

The Uchiha heir heard footsteps behind him, he didn't turn around to face the person, and Kiba stepped in front of him. Sasuke looked at him, coldly, and Kiba sighed.

"Thank you for saving, Hinata-chan back there in the village, it seems I was wrong about you."

"I don't care what you think about me or anyone else."

"I was against you being around, Hinata-chan, in fact, I think that we all were considering who you are and what your motives were for it, but it seems that they are not malicious." The Uchiha heir didn't need any fucking approval from anyone to be around anyone. The Inuzuka carried on. "However, I will be watching you, Hinata-chan is like a sister to me."

"Leave me alone." The Uchiha heir growled. He watched the Inuzuka look at him, irate for a moment, probably at the lack of interest in what he had to say, and he pushed past Sasuke, grumbling. Sasuke didn't look back at the others, he kept his eyes forward, and he remained that way the whole day.

XXXX

The night soon fell, and everyone pulled out more food for dinner. They ate their food in silence, and soon everyone went to bed. However, Hinata found herself, oddly awake, and she began to wonder if Sasuke was asleep or not. Furthermore, he hadn't interacted with anyone all day, and she wondered if he was still sitting off to the side. After a few struggles with her thoughts, she lifted up, curiously, and looked around the camp. Ino, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Sakura were all asleep soundly as their chest rose and fell. She looked to see the Uchiha heir was sitting down with his legs crossed, overlooking the river. Hinata got up, walking over to him, but he didn't turn around.

"Go back to sleep." Sasuke ordered.

"You are not tired?" Hinata asked, curiously. She strolled over beside him, and sat down on the ground.

"No."

"If you d-don't mind me asking, how come you d-don't sleep, Sasuke-san?" The Hyuuga heiress questioned. "You haven't slept a wink since we l-left the village."

"I don't sleep when I am traveling out here, sleeping is a vulnerable state."

"No harm w-will come to you here." Hinata assured. He scoffed at the ridiculous comment, he reached over his hand, and laid it on top of hers.

"Like I fret over such things." The Uchiha heir snorted, mockingly. "I am Sasuke Uchiha, harm doesn't come to me, and I cause harm."

"Is that w-why you don't s-sleep?"

"Hinata." Sasuke said as his eye rested on her, they were intense, and he pursed his lips. "I have killed many people, my hands are stained red with their blood and among those people I have killed my own brother, my own family slaughtered in front of me, sleep doesn't grace me with her presence."

"You killed… your brother?" Hinata murmured as her eyes became wide orbs.

"Yes, I did, I ripped the only relative I have out of this wretched world."

_One of the many rare things that I regret doing. _Did the Uchiha heir have morals, hell no, he abandoned morals or anything that held you back of your actions. However, the emotion of regret you could say was something that he could say was a possible moral. Hell, he regretted nothing, except for that one thing.

"W-why did you kill….him?" Hinata asked, apprehensively. The Uchiha heir felt an odd form of anger wash over him, and he clenched his jaw.

_Are you so oblivious!_

"I was misguided by that damn village that you called home, that village that you and so many people hold onto so dearly, used my clan, me, my brother as nothing but pawns in their own selfish quests." His voice was dark and cold. "They all made a fool out of the Uchiha clan!" A gasp escaped out of her lips, she tried to pull her hand away, and he grabbed it. "I will make them rue the day that they all decided to use the Uchiha clan if not in this life but in the next!"

"Sasuke-san." Hinata muttered, lowly. "I-I…. "Her voice trailed off.

"No words of kindness eh?" The Uchiha heir derided.

"I'm sorry." The Hyuuga heiress closed her eyes, and she turned away from him. "I'm sorry that Konohagakure m-makes you feel such things." B-but, what do you mean by "they"?"

"Everyone." Sasuke said, bluntly. "Everyone that I have come in contact that belong to Konohagakure ever."

"So it is true." Hinata mumbled, lowly. She withdrew her hand, and the Hyuuga heiress searched the Uchiha heir's face. "The r-rumors that you wanted to decimate Konohagakure."

"Yes." The Uchiha heir said, flatly. "I wanted to kill everyone who inhabited it." He saw her pale at his words.

_You wanted to know, Hyuuga, sometimes the truth is abominable._

"You say wanted, w-what made you change your m-mind?"

"My brother did, it was my way to honor his wishes."

"…..have those murderous feelings left you?"

"No, they have not." Sasuke admitted. "I just merely channel those feelings in a different direction." He kept his response ambiguous, but he knew that she could figure it out.

"In your fights." Hinata guessed. There was another silence exchanged between them. "Let me ask you a q-question?"

"And what pretell may that be?"

"If you would not have met me, if you did not h-honor your brother's wishes, would you have struck me down when you destroyed Konoha."

"You know the answer." A slight gasp escaped from her mouth, and she withered away from him.

"But what if you knew me?" Hinata said, shakily. "c-could you look me in the eye and do that?" w-what about Sakura-san, and Naruto-san, they knew you as well, w-what about the innocent lives."

"So." The Uchiha heir brushed off her sentiments, and he looked back at the river. "But….. If I knew you then, I would have left you… alive." As for my former teammates, I wouldn't care."

"y-you would have condemned me to a life of l-loneliness without my family." Hinata defended." Without my friends."

"You would be alive wouldn't you?" Sasuke exasperated. "That is more than what most people get out of me." He saw her recoil, she pulled her legs up to her chest, and she placed her head in her knees, hiding her face. Her body trembled, and he knew that she was crying at the pure apathy displayed by the Uchiha heir. "Are you afraid of me, Hinata?"

"' I am _not_ afraid of you." Her voice unsteady. The Uchiha heir reached over a hand, and he rested the palm of his hand on the middle of her back.

"Show me your face, Hinata."

"Why w-would you do that to a-another human being?" Hinata demanded. "Devalue and d-dehumanize them in such a w-way." She lifted her face, it was filled with a mix of terror and confusion, and tears rolled down her cheeks. "I-I can't even comprehend it." He moved his hand, brushing her bangs out of her face, and a strand of hair behind her ear.

"It is okay to be weak in front of me, you don't have to be so strong, you can be afraid of me." The Uchiha heir informed. "Because, I know that you are."

"I-I'm sorry." Hinata apologized. She lifted up her arm, wiping her tears away with the sleeve of her jacket, and a determined look came on her face. "But I-I will not look at you with such fright you like everyone on Konoha does, I-I will not shy away from you o-out of fear."

"Hmph, that kindness _will_ be the death of you." The Uchiha heir stated. "You know I could just be doing this to get through to you and use all your kindness against you." A smirk came on his face. "I am always calculating, Hinata, don't you ever forget that."

"You should take that to heart."

"But, sometimes life t-throws you events that are unanticipated, Sasuke-san." The Hyuuga heiress muttered, lowly. Her tears now dried up. "It is h-hard to calculate those things."

_Oh how well I know. You were not anticipated. _

"I don't need a lecture." He snapped.

"I know."

"You should go to sleep." The Uchiha heir recommended.

With a nod, Hinata started to get up, but he grabbed the sleeve of her jacket. "You can stay here and sleep."

"A-are you sure?" The Hyuuga heiress asked, shocked.

"I wouldn't have proposed the idea if I wasn't sure, I am _always_ sure about everything I do." Siting back down, he noticed that she was uneasy, and she fumbled with her fingers.

"Relax, Hyuuga, and go to sleep."

"Oh, yes, sorry, may I p-please rest my head against your shoulder?"

"Fine." He saw her hesitant, and the Uchiha heir became agitated. "Well…I gave you permission didn't I?" She bit her lip, Hinata rested her head against his shoulder, and the Uchiha heir tensed up. He fought the urge to throw her off of him, he was not used to the touch of a woman. Then, she did something unexpected.

XXXX

Hinata allowed herself a bold move, hoping to relax the Uchiha heir, and she wrapped her arms across him. A faint blush rose to her cheeks, she closed her eyes not wanting to see the look on his face, and she drifted off to sleep.

XXXX

Sasuke looked at the Hyuuga heiress, angrily. Did he say that she could do this? He would have permitted that she grab his hand, maybe brush his skin, or hair but not embrace. Hell, he had only just now allowed himself to show affection for her. She took in a deep breath, it escaped from her parted lips, and the Uchiha heir rolled his eyes. He muttered something unintelligible before he turned his gaze to the moonlight kissed water, staying like that for the rest of the night.

XXXX

He was an uncaring, cold man, but at the same time a warm, and thoughtful person. What an oxymoron that was. The Hyuuga heiress couldn't figure him out.

Did his words strike fear into her heart? Yes. However, he was truthful with her.

Furthermore, she figured that he would have looked down upon her when she broke down in front of him, but he didn't. In fact, he tried to comfort her in a strange way.

He was definitely an odd man.

A slight fall of her arm woke the Hyuuga heiress up, and she lifted up, quickly. Her eyes were met with onyx eyes, Hinata gasped at him, and she back away.

"S-sorry." The Hyuuga heiress said, breathlessly.

"You should be." The Uchiha heir grumbled. He said this with a blank expression, his voice was dark, but there was no sign of fury behind it. She was surprised at this, she had expected him to be infuriated, but the Hyuuga heiress could tell that he had her allowed to remain that way all night. A smile came to her lips, and she wiped her eyes. "You all need to hurry up and eat, we need to head out soon." Sasuke stood up, he stood afar, and Hinata took a couple of more bites of her food. As she ate, everyone started to wake up, and Sakura smiled at her.

"Morning, Hinata-san." The pink haired kunoichi greeted.

"Morning,"

"Ugh." Ino groaned as she lifted up. "I am so ready for a warm bed." The Hyuuga heiress chuckled at her. "How did you sleep, Hinata-chan?"

"I slept good, thank you." Hinata smiled, kindly.

"Geez, can I not get one sleep without you whining Ino?" Shikamaru asked as he lifted up, and he rubbed his eyes. "Every time, we go on missions like this, it's the same thing."

"No, you won't." Hinata walked over to Kiba, she touched his shoulder, his brown eyes fluttered open, and Akamaru began to stir at the same time as Kiba.

"I am up." Kiba grinned with a flash of canine like teeth. He lifted up, and began to stretch like an animal.

"Just w-wanted to make sure."

"We will all start heading out soon." Shikamaru announced. "So let's hurry and eat." Hinata walked over to the horse, and she gave it some water in preparation for the long trip. Kiba grabbed onto the horse's reins after she was done, and everyone ready themselves for the last bit of their journey.

XXXX

- A few hours later-

The Uchiha heir was not happy to see Konohagakure once again, it was the bane of his existence, and the guards at the gates looked at him with a stunned expression.

"What are you doing here, Sasuke Uchiha?" One of them demanded with a guarded eyes. "Stay right there."

"You going to stop me?" Sasuke questioned, knowing the answer that he would get, and they shook their head.

_Smart decision. _

The gates opened up, letting all of them through, and other shinobi came to greet them. All of their mouths dropped when they caught sight of the Sasuke, Sasuke was seeing more than enough, and he headed towards the estate.

"Oh, Sasuke-san..." Hinata began. The Uchiha heir cut her off.

"You know where I stay at." Sasuke spat. "Come see me there if you wish to speak with me any further." And with that, the Uchiha heir pulled up the hood of his cloak, and put as much distance as he could between the shinobi and himself.

_Man, he fucking detested shinobi. _

XXXX

Hinata wondered home after they turned in their report to Naruto, and informed him of all the events that transpired. The Hyuuga heiress was surprised when she saw Hiashi standing outside the Hyuuga gate as she approached it. Hiashi's looked at Hinata with a stern look, his pale eyes were intense, and he had on a brown kimono with a matching tan jacket. The Hyuuga heiress walked up to her father, and she bowed in front of him.

"I-I am back from my mission."

"I am aware that your mission is finished, I was given the paper work on the duration that it would take you to complete it." Hiashi said as he crossed his arms. "Come inside... we need to talk."

"Yes, father." Hinata followed after him. The Hyuuga heiress looked up at him, perplexed as he walked in front of her. "If I may ask, w-what is this about?" Hiashi stopped, looking at her out the corner of his eye, and Hinata's eyes widened at his comment.

"It is about your recent interactions with Sasuke Uchiha."

**Please review the story, I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you all enjoyed it as there will be more to come- FireGladiator**


	13. True Intentions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, or any aspect of it. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

The Beauty of Power

Chapter 13

Hinata sat in front of her father, Hiashi Hyuuga, and her legs were folded underneath her. She didn't meet the eyes of her father, instead she looked at the wooden boards in the floor, but she felt his gaze penetrate her.

"w-what all do you know?" Hinata asked, lowly.

"Everything, the festival, you going out to the forest to train with him." Hiashi informed. The Hyuuga heiress should have seen this coming, she knew that her father kept a close eye on her, and her sister, Hanabi. Nothing got past his eyes.

"I-I was merely trying to w-welcome, Sasuke-san back into the village." Hinata said, softly.

"You are the next in line to the Hyuuga throne." Hiashi's voice was stern. "You being around him, are you not aware of what he has done?"

"I-I am." Hinata mumbled. "But, why not give him a chance?"

"To do what?" Hiashi pressed." A chance to harm you? you have duties remember that, you are a shinobi, and the future heiress, those are the things that you need to focus on. Not rehabilitating someone."

"b-but, he saved me." Hinata defended. "When I was on the mission, h-he stepped in and kept me from being attacked."

"You shouldn't need the help of anyone." Hiashi grunted. Hinata pursed her lips, and nodded in compliance. "You have an image to uphold, we cannot allow you to be perceived as weak, enemies will take advantage of that."

"I understand."

"Your kind nature will be taken advantage of that Uchiha, so do a favor and stay away from him." Hiashi recommended.

"B-but, he is my friend."

"Friend?" Hiashi asked with a reflection of doubt in his voice. "You think that he is your friend."

"I do."

"Hinata." Hiashi said, flatly. "That is a foolish notion that should be tosses out of your mind, immediately." Why do you think he wanted to be around you?" all he wants is the power of the Hyuuga!" Hiashi's voice was now angry, Hinata flinched at the tone, and she felt tension in the air. The air was heavy and thick that Hinata felt as if she was going to choke on it.

Hiashi continued. "The Hyuuga and Uchiha have history together." We are both ancient clans who have been revered as the most powerful among our peers, we both have powerful kekkei genkai that have evolved from one another, but the Hyuuga have kept the secret of the byakugan guarded for centuries while the Uchiha have allowed theirs to run wild." I will allow ours to be compromised by my misguided daughter."

"Yes, father, I am s-sorry." Hinata apologized, and she bowed to Hiashi. "P-please forgive me." Hiashi sighed at his daughter.

"You are strong Hinata, I saw what you did during the Fourth Shinobi War, but you are also weak." Hiashi informed. "Now, go wash up." Hinata stood up, her face covered with her hair, and she walked out of the room. She slid the door behind her, and upon hearing the click, ran down the hallway. Her tears were now streaming down her face, and she went into her room. Closing the door behind her, she fell on her bed, and buried her face in her pillow. It was not too long that she heard her door slide open.

"Hinata?" Hanabi asked, concerned. "Are you okay?" The Hyuuga heiress gasped in shock, and she wiped her tears away, quickly.

"Yes, Hanabi?"

"Are you okay?" Hinata felt her sister touch her shoulder, and she smiled at her.

"O-oh yes, thank y-you."

"Did father say something to you?"

"No, w-why do you ask?"

"It is about Sasuke Uchiha isn't it? I was able to overhear some of the conversation between father and the people who had told him about you and Sasuke." Hinata looked at her, stunned, and then she nodded. "He is a bad man you know."

"Maybe in the past." Hinata defended. "Now, he is not a bad person, no, now he is d-different."

"How can you tell?"

"It is h-hard to explain."

"Do you know why he wanted to originally hang around you?" Hanabi asked. Hinata grimaced, pondering the question, and she couldn't come up with an answer.

"No, I don't."

"Are you sure it was not for your byakugan?" Hanabi questioned. "I love you, Hinata, and I do trust your judgement, you are my dear big sister, but you have to be a hundred percent sure. You should ask him and see what he says."

What was the real reason for him being around her? This was a question that Hinata found herself unable to answer, and she stood up.

"I will be back, Hanabi." Hinata walked out of the house, and she headed towards the Uchiha estate. The gates open for the first time, she could see inside it, and Hinata looked at the garden in awe. She approached the front door, and she knocked on it, quietly.

XXXX

Sasuke opened up the door, the Hyuuga heiress's face was puffy, and her eyes were red. Had she been crying? His eyes narrowed as he pursed his lips, and he leaned up against the door frame.

"Why do you look like that?" The Uchiha heir asked, coolly.

"I have to ask you a q-question."

"Another one?" Sasuke exasperated, and Hinata nodded at him. "What is it?"

"Why d-did you first start hanging around m-me, Sasuke-san?" Sasuke looked at her, intently, and she held his gaze. "Why d-did you seek me out that first time in the restaurant "please tell me, I need to k-know."

"Why is it important?" The Uchiha heir groaned.

"Because my father thinks that you wanted me for the b-byakugan." Instantly, the Uchiha heir's face became hard, and his eye became cold. "Is the whole reason w-why we interacted with one another is because you w-want my byakugan?"

_Smart man. That is to be expected from the head of the Hyuuga clan. _

"You may not like the answer." He saw her pale at his response, and she backed away from him.

"Tell me, please."

"Are you doing this because of your father?" the Uchiha heir asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, not a-anymore." Hinata grasped her pants, and she looked down at the ground. "I am doing this for me, I n-need to know."

"Fine." Sasuke said with rolled eyes. "I didn't interact with you because I want your byakugan, I am perfectly happy with my kekkei genkai, but it was somewhat related to your byakugan. You see I was tired of not having a worthy opponent to fight and well, I have never fought a Hyuuga before, and you were the perfect opportunity to fill that."

"' So you just talked to m-me because I was a Hyuuga?" Hinata asked as he saw her eyes fill with water.

"Essentially, you were just a punching bag till I got bored of you or you wore out." Sasuke affirmed. Tears now fell down her cheeks, she covered her face, and she shook her head.

"You were t-taking advantage of my k-kindness."

"Yes."

"That is so cruel." The Hyuuga heiress muttered. "And what about n-now, are you taking advantage of me now?"

"There are circumstances that prevent me from doing so now, I no longer have the desire to."

"I don't believe you." Hinata turned away from him, and Sasuke fought the urge to want to reach out towards her.

"Hinata."

"My father was right." The Hyuuga heiress sobbed. "I am a fool." And with that, the Uchiha heir saw her run out of his gates, and he felt something warm in his hands. Sasuke looked at his hand, his fists were clenched in a tight grip to where his nails dug in the flesh, drawing blood.

Had they been like that the whole time?

XXXX

Hinata ran all the way back home, she walked up to the stairs of her front porch, and sat down. She could hear all the voices of everyone telling her that they told her that this would happen, Hinata pulled her knees up to her chest, and she rested her head on them.

Was it so wrong to have faith in him? Did he even care that she wanted to make him feel like a normal person?

The Hyuuga heiress felt used by him, but she had only herself to blame for the predicament that she was in.

He had no intention of being her friend. Sasuke Uchiha didn't want friends, and he was not going to entertain the idea of having one.

Friends didn't treat one another like that. The Hyuuga heiress mentally kicked herself, she should have left things alone, and not demanded the truth from him. He had warned her, and she should have taken his advice. It would save her from this emptiness that she was feeling in her chest.

The emptiness was familiar to her, in fact, she had felt it when she had confessed her love for Naruto, and he had not return it.

It was the emptiness of being alone.

XXXX

-Several days later-

The Uchiha heir hadn't seen the Hyuuga heiress since their confrontation, Sasuke told himself not to care, and to go about his own day. He did this for the first couple of days of her absence, and it worked. However, he noticed that he couldn't sleep at all during the night, in fact, all he did was stare at the white plastered walls, and this put him in a very foul mood. Everything began to agitate him, and Sasuke began to suspect that this was all out of some form of guilt.

So he did know what guilt felt like. The Uchiha heir thought that he had rid himself of that annoying emotion a long time ago, but apparently not.

Why did he care so much? She was the one who asked the question. He was truthful with her.

_You __**really **__fucked up, you fucking idiot. Apologize. _The Uchiha heir snarled at the thought, and he cursed underneath his breath. There was no way in hell that he was going to apologize to her. Sasuke Uchiha was never apologetic for any of his actions! He was not going to break that streak.

_Fine, then good luck to you, we all know you won't get a wink of sleep before you do. _

It was only after a few more sleepless nights, Sasuke started to give in. He needed to find the Hyuuga heiress quick.

-The next morning-

As soon as the sun rose, the Uchiha heir ventured out into the market to see if Hinata was there, and no luck came up. He looked all throughout the kukoji forest to see if she was there, and she wasn't. He was getting tense when he results turned up nothing, and he considered going to her estate, dragging her out of there, and making her accept his apology. He didn't care if she wanted to accept the apology or not, at least he did it. After, a couple of more no luck searches, he passed by a kimono shop, and the Hyuuga heiress walked out of it. She had a bag in her hands, and she met his eyes.

XXXX

Hinata looked at Sasuke, surprised, and then she smiled, wearily.

"Hey, Sasuke-san, i-is something wrong?"

"Yea, there is." The Uchiha heir informed as he sauntered towards her,

XXXX

"I'm sorry" Sasuke apologized. Oh! How those words made his tongue burn. He saw the Hyuuga heiress's eyes widen at his word, she was clearly taken aback by his apology, and the Uchiha heir ran his hands through his hair. "I'm sorry for everything."

"I f-forgive you, Sasuke-san." Hinata said, quickly. "N-" Sasuke cut her off.

"I am not finished yet." The Uchiha heir pressed. "I really need to talk you."

"About what?" Hinata bit her lip. "You have m-made it clear that you were only interested in me as a p-punching bag and not me as a person."

"That is what I wanted to talk to you about, I am not interested in you for that reason, anymore."

"You're lying." Hinata said as she shook her head. Sasuke could tell that she was deeply hurt, it was evident all over her face. The Uchiha heir walked up to her, grabbing her jacket, and he pulled her against him. His body tensed up at the touch, and his jaw clenched. Hinata put her hands in between them, they rested on his chest, and she tried to pull away. However, he tightened his grip on her.

"I am not lying." The Uchiha heir reiterated.

"If you are n-not, how do I know that?" Her lavender eyes met his ash burn ones.

"You should know by a couple of things I have done for you." The Uchiha heir explained. "I stepped in between you and that crowd in the village, I also stepped in between you and those men, and I am holding you like this right now, if that is not enough validation for you, I don't know what is."

"But, what about what you said?" Hinata asked, curiously.

"Before, this all began to occur and I met you, I wouldn't have cared if you were struck down, blown up, I couldn't even stand the thought of you touching me or vice versa." The Hyuuga heiress looked at him, shocked, and he leaned down, resting his forehead against her shoulder. "But, I will no longer think about taking advantage of you, things have changed between you and me."

"Sasuke-san."

"That is the truth." Sasuke sighed. "I have been nothing, but truthful to you. That is the most that people get out of me in a lifetime."

"I k-know it is, Sasuke-san." Hinata began. "Are you s-saying that you have changed?"

"That is what is implied isn't it?"

"I know y-you have changed, I have seen it in you."

"Oh how so?" Sasuke questioned.

"When we f-first met your eyes were filled with coldness and apathy but now their d-different." Hinata explained.

"Your eyes can see more than just chakra." The Uchiha heir whispered, lowly. "This is why I say that you have broken me."

"I'm s-sorry."

"Shut up." Sasuke hissed. "The minute that I agreed to go to that festival with you was the beginning of it, and now I am ruined."

"Is that what you mean by circumstances?"

"It is." Sasuke explained. "And when I told you that I wanted you to be mine, I meant it, every word of it." There was no motive behind those words, it is what I desired." I desire… you."

"That makes me happy." Hinata said with a hint of elation in her voice.

_Happiness? _He couldn't believe that this had come out of someone's mouth? Sasuke Uchiha, murder, traitor, selfish, sadistic asshole was able to deliver something other than heart ache, and pain.

"I am not a romantic man, Hinata, but I can tell you that I have been more agitated these past couple of days than I have been in a long time." The Uchiha heir admitted. "And that made me come to this conclusion."

"And what is that?"

"That I don't want you to ever leave me, I want you to be always by my side."

"My father will always be s-suspicious of you e-even if we're..." Her voice trailed off.

"Dating."

"A-are we?" Hinata asked, curiously, but Sasuke remained silent. He could tell that his silence was making her uneasy. "I mean... if you w-want to."

"I don't know if I have romantic feelings for you yet." He murmured." But, the answer to both of your questions should be obvious." Hinata couldn't help, but let out a small giggle, and Sasuke smirked at her. He lifted up his head, leaning into her face, and she looked at him with parted lips. He brushed his nose along her jawline all the way up to her ear, and her breath hitched. "You want me to say one of those answers out loud don't you?" She gave him affirming smile, and she nodded. There was a pause between the two heirs.

"Yes, Hinata Hyuuga, I want to date you." Sasuke whispered as he pressed his lips against her ear, affectionately.

"I'd like t-that." Hinata admitted as she closed her eyes, savoring the moment.

XXXX

-Later on that day-

Hinata was training in her backyard, she was huffing, and her byakugan was activated. A wooden dummy sat in front of her, it had dents in it from where she had hit it with her hands, and they had scratched on them.

"Hinata!" Hanabi shouted. The Hyuuga heiress turned around to meet her sister, and Hanabi ran up to her. Hanabi's face was full of disbelief. "Sasuke Uchiha is here." Hinata's eyes widened at her sister's news, and she followed her sister back into the house. The Hyuuga heiress stopped at her front door, Hiashi was standing at the gate with his arms crossed, and Sasuke was standing in front of him. They seemed to be in a conversation, it looked like a deep conversation, and she saw Sasuke bow to Hiashi, halfway. This caught Hinata off guard, she strolled over to where they were, and Hiashi turned around.

"What is g-going on, w-why are you here, Sasuke-san?" Hiashi closed his eyes, pushing past her, and she stared at him, perplexed. However, he stopped a few feet away from her, and he turned around.

"I will not be responsible for you, if any harm comes to you." Hiashi said, coolly. Hinata watched him head back into the house, and she looked back at Sasuke.

"What did you do?"

"Don't worry about it." The Uchiha heir said, dismissively. However, Hinata was fully aware of what he had just done. He had persuaded her father to allow her to be around him, and she smiled to herself.

The selfish Uchiha that everyone talked about had just done something for someone, and it wasn't just for anyone. It was just for her.

**Please review the story, I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you all enjoyed it as there will be more to come- FireGladiator**


	14. Just a Day

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, or any aspect of it. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Author's Note: This chapter I decided to make humorous and give a glimpse into the first stages of dating between Sasuke, and Hinata before stuff happens ( *cough* foreshadowing.) Anyways enjoy!**

The Beauty of Power

Chapter 14

Hinata wasn't quite sure what to call Sasuke. Her boyfriend? Her beau? Her romantic friend? Dating was something foreign to the Hyuuga heiress, she had never been in a relationship before, but she was excited for it. It was a new adventure for Sasuke, and her. The Hyuuga heiress promised herself that she would try her best to keep it quiet that the Uchiha heir and her were officially dating. Hinata walked into Naruto's office, Sakura, Ino, and Kiba stood in front of his desk, and there were no papers on his desk.

"Hey." Hinata greeted, warmly.

"Hey, Hinata-chan." Naruto beamed. "I called everyone for a quick announcement today." The young jinchuuriki gave her a toothy grin, and he leaned back in the chair.

"More missions?" Sakura groaned.

"Nope, today is off day for everyone." The blond headed Hokage informed. "We have no missions for today, everyone can take a break." Uniform sighs of relief filled the room, and Naruto chuckled.

"That's great!" Kiba exclaimed as he turned to Hinata. "Hey, since we aren't busy, there is a watering hole in the Ozashumi forest, and I was thinking that we could all go and have some fun."

"Sounds good to me." Ino chimed in. "I could go for swimming."

"I'm coming too." Naruto explained. Hinata looked at him, surprised, and he stood up, stretching. "I have finished all work for today, I could use the break, and why not use this time to enjoy it."

"Great." Sakura gave her husband a warm smile.

"Okay, then what about food?" Kiba asked, curiously. Hinata nodded at him.

"I can bring the f-food if you w-want." Hinata proposed.

"That will be great, thank you, Hinata-chan." Ino smiled.

"Sounds like a plan." Kiba chimed in. Hinata observed everyone's excited faces, and she began to wonder if Sasuke would like to come. After all, they hadn't seen one another since the commencement of their relationship, and it would be nice to spend time with him. However, she also knew that he didn't really like to be around anyone except for her, and she pondered the question if he would even go. Yet, Hinata couldn't bring herself not to ask him, even if he didn't accept.

"w-what would you like me to bring?" Hinata asked, curiously. "I-I can bring tea and cucumber sandwiches?"

"That sounds delicious." Ino assured. "We are not picky." The Hyuuga heiress gave her one last nod, and everyone agreed to meet at the Ozashumi forest at noon. Hinata walked towards the Uchiha estate, the gates were partially open, and she stepped through them. As soon as she did, a hand grabbed her wrist, and she turned to meet onyx colored eyes.

"O-oh, Sasuke-san, how are y-you today?" She gave him a warm smile, and Sasuke looked at her, coolly.

"Anyone tell you it is impolite to sneak into someone's home?" The Uchiha heir asked. Hinata shook her head.

"I-I'm sorry." She began to stammer. "I-I didn't mean to in-" Hinata saw a smirk come across his face, and her cheeks flushed red. The Hyuuga heiress knew that he was teasing her, and she saw him release his grip on her wrist. Sasuke's hand moved to her hair, and he brushed it behind her ear. "Why did you l-leave your gate open?"

"Because I knew that you would probably be coming here." The Uchiha heir informed as he crossed his arms. The Hyuuga heiress flickered her eyes to the ground, and she began to bite her lip.

"Um… w-would you like to go swimming with me and s-some friends?" Hinata proposed. She looked up at him from underneath his eyelashes, there was a long pause, and Sasuke scoffed.

"Some friends you mean sakura and those others right?" the Uchiha heir inquired, fully aware of the answer.

"And... Naruto-chan." Hinata added. She saw a flicker of annoyance come across his face, and Hinata held up her hands. "y-you can say no."

"Shut up, Hinata." The Uchiha heir held up his hands to hers interlacing their fingers, and he pulled her close to him. "Have you considered the fact that maybe I hate swimming."

"y-you do?" The Hyuuga heiress asked, shocked. "I'm sorry, I t-thought that maybe we could um…. Spend time together." Sasuke stared at her with an unfathomable expression, and he sighed.

"Fine, but you owe me." the Uchiha heir hissed.

"You'll go?"

"Yes, I just said that." Sasuke admitted with a scowl. "But you owe me, I just don't go hang around those nuisances for pure enjoyment, I know that they will all get on my nerves in some form or another especially that dobe, Naruto. So you have to compensate me for that."

"What do you want?" Hinata asked.

"Hmmm..." The Uchiha heir smirked at her, evilly, and she stared at him, speechless. "I haven't seen you in a couple of days either so that makes your debt to me even higher."

"b-but, I have b-been on missions all those days."

"And you think that is an excuse?" Sasuke asked as a displeased look came across his face, and Hinata's lips parted. "But, I'm going to make you wait on what I decide." The Hyuuga heiress nodded at him, she knew that he was toying with her, and enjoying every little expression that she was giving him.

"Since w-when you come, and I am bringing the food, how d-does cucumber sandwiches, and tea sound?"

"I don't care." Sasuke shrugged, and his eyes narrowed. "You offered to make food for everyone didn't you?"

"Y-yes, why?" The Uchiha heir rolled his eyes, and muttered something, unintelligible.

"Don't overwork yourself." The Hyuuga heiress couldn't help, but chuckle. Sasuke was really caring when he wanted to be, as if reading her thought, the Uchiha heir pursed his lips. "Don't be mistaken, this is not out of some odd form of endearment, I need you to be in a perfect physical state for what I have planned for you." Hinata gasped at him, Sasuke pulled away from her, and he headed towards his front door.

"What time is it?"

"Noon."

"Okay, I will see you then." And with that the Uchiha heir disappeared behind his front door, leaving the Hyuuga heiress standing in the front yard.

XXXX

The Uchiha heir never thought the day would come to pass that he would enjoy the company of the opposite sex or date one. He had avoided women for so long, and this was out of personal choice. The women he had come in contact with both in his preteen years and now had been smitten with him. One look at one of the girls, and they took it as his commitment to them. This included girls like Sakura Haruno, and Karin, his former teammate. Karin was nothing, but a sadomasochist who enjoyed him biting her. In fact, the Uchiha heir could recall a time that he had been injured, bit her, and she had an orgasm right there. Now, Sakura was another story, in her preteen years, she was so infatuated with him that she would have gladly threw down her life for him just so he could pay attention to her. Nonetheless, all these attempts from Karin and Sakura were pathetic and just downright sad. However, Hinata Hyuuga didn't fall into the crowd of fan girls, and Sasuke liked that. In a way, she was a breath of fresh air.

Sasuke was not going to go swimming, he hated the water, and he hated the company that he would be in especially Naruto. If anything, the Uchiha heir would just spectate, and watch the Hyuuga heiress enjoy herself. As soon as the clock hit noon, Sasuke headed towards the forest, and he could hear laughing. The sound of water splashing resonated throughout the forest, and the Uchiha heir cursed underneath his breath. Figures started to become apparent, the Uchiha heir stopped behind a tree, and he looked at the scene. Naruto was splashing Sakura, a wide grin on his face, and she was laughing. Kiba was hissing at them as the water was being splashed his way, and Ino was laying out in the sun. The Uchiha heir saw Hinata was sitting on a blanket laid out under her, and she had a basket next to her. There were small cups, and saucers sitting next to it. She had on her usual huge jacket with a pair of shorts, and sandals. He rolled his eyes, cursing himself for allowing her to persuade him to come, and he walked out into the open. Everyone stopped, looking at him wide-eyed, but Sasuke ignored them. He sauntered over to Hinata, sitting down next to her, and he looked at everyone, hard.

"Sasuke, you came... here?" Ino asked, shocked.

"I was invited." The Uchiha heir hissed through gritted teeth.

"Well, I'll be damned." Naruto grinned at him. "I thought I'd never see the day."

"Don't get any silly notions." Sasuke growled. He gave Naruto a cold stare, his eyes flickered to Sakura who was looking at him, surprised, and then she smiled. His eyes narrowed as he saw her eyes go to Hinata and then him.

_Rid yourself of that thought now! I can see you contemplating._

"y-you didn't wear anything cooler?" Hinata asked, curiously. Her question broke him out of his thoughts, the Uchiha heir's eyes settled Hinata, and he crossed his arms.

"I am not swimming."

"W-why not?" Naruto asked, disappointed.

"I am not here to have fun with any of you." Sasuke sneered.

_If anything, I am here for just Hinata __**only.**_

"Anyways, why are you wearing that oversized jacket?" Hinata turned red, shaking her head, and she clutched the jacket to her body.

"I-I can't." Hinata said, bashfully. "I will be e-exposed."

"It is only a bathing suit." Sasuke said, flatly. "It is not like you're naked." He saw her pale at his remark, and the Uchiha heir waved his hand. "But, whatever, it is your choice, I won't say anything more, you may pass out."

"w-would you like some tea?" Hinata held up a pitcher of tea, and a cup. She was clearly trying to divert the conversation, and the Uchiha heir shrugged.

"Whatever." He grabbed the cup, she poured him it, and Sasuke kept his eyes forward.

"Do you l-like it?"

"I told you not to overdo it." Sasuke scoffed. "….. It's really good." Hinata smiled at him, warmly, but he kept his distance from her. Careful, not to giveaway signs of their relationship.

"Hey, Hinata-chan, you should come in the water." Ino suggested.

i-I'm fine." Hinata assured.

"Come on." Kiba urged.

"Oh, okay." The Uchiha heir watched her get up, sitting down on the edge of the water, and she placed her sandals to the side. She put her legs in the water, she remained that way for a majority of the time, and the Uchiha heir looked off at a certain distance. Naruto put Sakura on his shoulders, and Kiba put Ino on his shoulders. They tried to push each other off their shoulders, Hinata giggled, and Sakura managed to push Ino off Kiba's shoulders. Sakura succeeded to push Ino off of Kiba's shoulders. Ino fell backward, but she accidently grabbed Hinata, and Hinata fell into the water with her with a gasp. Sasuke stared at the spot where Hinata was, and he got up, not seeing her there. He was clearly displeased, Sasuke saw Hinata come up from the water, and her hair stuck to her face.

"Sorry, Hinata-chan." Ino apologized, quickly. She shot a glare at Kiba, and Kiba groaned to himself.

"Its fine, no worries." Hinata assured. "It feels nice." The Uchiha heir looked at the Yanamaka, coldly, and he heard her gasp as she met his eyes. He extended his hand to Hinata, the Hyuuga heiress grabbed it, and he helped her out.

"You idiot." Sasuke murmured as he reached over a hand, and pinched her cheek, gently. Hinata winced at him. "It is not _always_ okay."

"She didn't mean to."

"Tch, whatever." Her jacket clung to her body and her shorts, he could see the outline of her bikini. It was pink and the top went around her neck with a hook in the back. The bottoms were just basic bikini ones. The bikini showed off her slender curvaceous body.

"You should take off the jacket, there is no point in concealing what you are wearing now, and everyone can see it." Sasuke informed. Hinata gasped at him, and she looked at herself. A slight blush coming to her cheeks.

"O-okay, but p-please turn around." The Uchiha heir rolled his eyes, turning around, and Hinata took off her jacket and shorts. "I-I'm done."

"The pink looks good on you." Sasuke stated. "And stop being so timid, it is not like I haven't seen a woman's body before."

XXXX

Was that a compliment? Hinata couldn't help, but smile at him. She knelt down, grabbing some water, and she splashed it on him. Sasuke gave her a stern look as water dripped off his hair, and she giggled. His look may had been upset, but his eyes were not. Without another word, the Uchiha heir sauntered back to the matt, and Hinata got into the water. She watched the others play games in the water such as Marco polo in which she joined into. Hinata found herself looking back at Sasuke, and she began to wonder.

What things did he like?

It was midafternoon, and she portioned out the sandwiches. Everyone gave her praise about the, but she was interested in what Sasuke thought about it. She watched him take a bite of it, he closed his eyes, and sighed.

"This good, Hinata." Everyone looked at him, shocked at his compliment, and Hinata nodded at him.

"I-I'm glad you like it."

XXXX

Naruto looked between the two, and he began to smirk.

"So, Sasuke, you came here cause you were invited by Hinata huh?" the young jinchuuriki host inquired. The Uchiha heir glared at him, and he pursed his lips.

"What are you implying?"

"Nothing." The blond headed Hokage smirked. The Uchiha heir didn't like the gleam in the young Jinchuuriki's eyes, and Sakura hit him upside the head. "Ouch."

"Let's have a meal when you are not trying to fight." Sakura hissed.

"This was a good idea, Kiba." Ino chimed.

"Agreed."

XXXX

The remainder of the food was in silence, and everyone was beginning to leave. Hinata put on back her jacket which was dried up now, and her pair of shorts. She stumbled as she tried to put on her sandals, and bumped into the Uchiha heir.

"Oh, s-" Sasuke cut her off.

"That was grueling torture." Sasuke hissed. "And now, I am going to make you pay for every bit of it." Hinata gasped, she had forgotten that he said she was indebted to him, and he reached out a hand. He wiped water off her cheek, and his eyes bore into hers.

"w-what do you want?" The Hyuuga heiress asked, shyly. A smirk came across Sasuke's face that made her slightly uneasy, and he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Relax, all I want is dinner." The Uchiha heir informed. "I will pay for both of us."

"S-sure, I would l-like that." The Hyuuga heiress sighed to herself, and she made a face. Sasuke really did like to tease her. He made it seem so bad and all he wanted was dinner with her.

"What is with that face?"

"Oh, n-nothing." Hinata waved her hands in front of her, and Sasuke shrugged.

"Hn." He walked beside Hinata, she looked at him, and reached for his hand, shyly. Her slender fingers touched his hand, and she interlaced their fingers.

Hinata could see that she would have to get used to his teasing.

XXXX

"I am beginning to suspect that eventually everyone will find out about this." The Uchiha heir groaned. "You and I."

"I'm sorry." Hinata apologized.

"Shut up." Sasuke growled. "I will deal with it when it comes." He led her back into the village, Sasuke choose the first restaurant that she spotted, and it was quiet when they entered. People stared at them as they sat down, and Hinata went to sit across him. Sasuke squeezed her hand, however, and he pulled her next to him.

"I really enjoyed today."

"Good."

"Did you h-have a good time today?" The Hyuuga heiress asked, curiously.

"Why does it matter?"

"Because I feel a-as if I left you out." Hinata said, sullenly.

"Hinata…." Sasuke stared at her, intently, and then, he looked away. " … I just care if you have a nice time." Hinata looked at him, taken aback.

"Sasuke-san."

"Just get what you want, I'm ready to order." The Uchiha heir exasperated. His voice was curt and revealed a slight agitation. He beckoned for the waitress to walk over to them, and Hinata ordered her food. There was a silence exchanged between the two until the waitress came back with their food.

"This relationship seems a little unbalanced." The Uchiha heir stated as his food was laid out in front of him. Hinata stared at him, perplexed, and he glanced at her out the corner of his eye.

"How?" The Hyuuga heiress's eyebrows furrowed together into a confused expression.

"You know everything about me, and the only things I know about you is just what I see."

"And what do you see."

"That you are the heiress to the Hyuuga clan, and that is it." Sasuke informed. "So to balance out this relationship, tell me about yourself, Hinata." Hinata looked at him, speechless, and then she nodded at him.

"Sure." Dinner was quite an adventure, she told Sasuke everything about herself. About her father, and about her cousin, Neji. Sasuke just nodded at everything as she spoke, Hinata couldn't help, but giggle at his antics to try to learn about her. After it was finished, he led her back to her estate, holding the picnic items, and she turned to him. They stood in front of her gates, it was beginning to rain outside, and she put her hand over her head.

"I'll go get an umbrella." Hinata informed, but the Uchiha heir grabbed her wrist.

"Don't, I don't mind it." Hinata looked at him, and his eyes lowered. He leaned into her, pressing his lips against hers, roughly, and he heard her gasp. However, Hinata began to relax, his kiss softened, and their lips molded with one another. His tongue slipped between her lips, caressing hers, and she sighed in pleasure. Their kiss was moistened by the rain, but they stayed that way for a good minute. Eventually, Sasuke pulled away from her, resting his forehead against hers, and Hinata for the first time saw something that she had never seen on his face. It was a smile.

**Please review the story, I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you all enjoyed it as there will be more to come- FireGladiator**


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